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BV  598  .W44  1903 
Weidner,  Revere  Franklin. 

1851-1915. 
The  doctrine  of  the  church 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  CHURCH 

OUTLINE   NOTES 
BASED  ON  LUTHARDT  AND  KRAIJTH 


i}.' 


ECCLESI 


OR 

THE    DOCTRINE    OF    THE 
CHURCH 

OUTLINE  NOTES 
BA^ED  ON  LUTHARDT 

I.     THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  CHURCH 
BY 

Revere   Franklin   Weidner,   D.   D.,   LL.   D. 

Professor  and  Doctor  of  Theology  in  the  Chicago  Lutheran  Theological 

Seminary ;  Author  of  ''Studies  in   the  Book^\  "Christian 

Ethics,'"  ''Biblical  Theology".  "Theological 

Encyclopcedia" ;   etc. 


CHICAGO  NEW  YORK  TORONTO 

FLEMING  H.   REVELL  COMPANY   ' 
LONDON  EDINBURGH 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF 
THE   CHURCH 


OUTLINE  NOTES 

BASED  ON  LUTHARDT  AND  KRAUTH 


BY 


/ 


Revere   Franklin   Weidner,   D.    D.,   LL.   D. 

Professor  and  Doctor  of  Theology  in  the  Chicago  i^utheran  Theological 

Seminary;  Author  of  '■'Studies  in  the  Book'\  ''Christian 

Ethics,''^  "Biblical  Theology^\  "Theological 

Encyclo/fcsdid"  ;  etc. 


CHICAGO  new  YORK  TORONTO 

FLEMING  H.   REVELL  COMPANY 

LONDON  EDINBURGH 


Copyright,  1903 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPAMY 

April. 


Chicago:  63  Washington  Street 
New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Toronto  27  Richmond  Street,  W 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:    30  St.    Mary  Street 


PREFACE. 

Positive  Theology  by  its  own  nature  divides  itself  into  four 
main  departments,  exegetical  historical,  systematic,  and  prac- 
tical. In  Systematic  Theology  we  have  the  highest  form  of 
theological  science,  and  in  its  full  treatment  it  is  best  to  dis- 
tinguish between  Apologetics,  Dogmatics,  and  Ethics,  and 
regard  these  three  sciences  as  forming  the  constituent  parts  of 
the  whole  discipline. 

We  have  here  to  do  with  Dogmatics,  or  the  doctrine  of 
faith,  which  is  not  a  bare  philosophy  of  religion,  nor  a  bare 
history  of  dogmas,  nor  simply  Biblical  theology,  nor  merely  a 
confessional — biblical  science,  but  is  in  its  nature  a  historico- 
philosophical  science,  in  which  the  results  of  biblical  and 
historical  exegesis  are  unified  and  systematized.  Its  aim  is  to 
teach  the  Christian  Religion  as  this  is  established  in  the  experi- 
mental consciousness  of  the  believer,  to  reproduce  it  spiritually, 
and  to  bring  it  into  a  scientific,  systematic  form.  It  aims  so  to 
present  revealed  truth  as  to  commend  the  contents  of 
Christianity  to  the  mind,  the  conscience,  and  the  heart,  of  man. 

In  a  former  volume  {An  Introduction  to  Dogmatic 
Theology,  second  revised  edition,  1895)  we  have  discussed  all 
topics  which  belong  to  a  full  treatment  of  the  Definition,  the 
Contents,  the  Method,  and  the  History  of  Dogmatics.  In  a 
second  volume  ( Theologia;  or,  The  Doctrine  of  God,  1 903)  we 
have  very  fully  treated  of  all  the  topics  connected  with  the  first 
great  division  of  Dogmatics,  covering  the  subjects  of  Natural 
and  Supernatural  Revelation,  the  Proofs  of  the  existence  of  God, 
the  Divine  attributes,  the  Scripture  and  Church  Doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  Predestination,  Creation,  Providence,  Miracles,  Angels, 
and  Satan. 

There  are  still  six  great  divisions  of  Dogmatics  left,  Anthro- 
pologia  or  the  Doctrine  of  Man,  Christologia  or  the  Doctrine  of 
the  Person  of  Christ,  Soteriologia  or  the  Doctrine  of  the  Work 
of  Christ,  Pnetifnatologia  or  the  Doctrine  of  the  Work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  Ecclesiologia  or  the  Doctrine  concerning  the 
Church,  and  Eschatologia  or  the  Doctrine  of  the  Last  Things. 

In  this  volume  we  take  up  the  subject  of  Ecclesiology,or  the 
Doctrine  concerning  the  Church.  This  great  subject  naturally 
falls  into  six  divisions,  i)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Church,  2)  The 
Doctrine  of  Holy  Scripture  (Inspiration),  3)  The  Word  of  God 
as  a  Means  of  Grace,  4)  The  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  5)  The 
Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  6)  The  Doctrine  of  the 


PREFACE 

Christian  Ministry.  In  this  little  book  we  confine  ourselves 
mainly  to  the  first  of  these  six  divisions,  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church. 

The  whole  field  of  Christian  truth  is  in  some  form  or  other 
involved  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Church.  It  is  the  great  question 
of  the  day,  and  most  diverse  views  are  held  by  earnest  followers 
of  Christ.  It  is  impossible  to  discuss  this  important  topic 
without  entering  the  field  of  Polemics  and  although  Dogmatics 
proper  has  to  do  mainly  with  the  conception  of  the  Church 
according  to  her  internal  essence,  and  while  the  discussion  of 
the  outward  relations  of  the  Church,  her  attitude  to  the  State, 
her  Constitution  and  organization,  properly  belong  to  that 
department  of  Practical  Theology  known  as  Church  Polity, 
nevertheless  as  Dogmatics  has  to  furnish,  in  the  main,  the 
leading  ideas  which  regulate  the  Polity  of  the  Church,  we  have 
deemed  it  best  to  include  in  our  treatment  a  brief  discussion  of 
Church  Polity. 

Much  stress  has  been  laid  upon  the  development  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Church  during  the  various  periods  of  Church  His- 
tory, and  upon  the  teaching  of  the  great  dogmaticians  of  the 
various  historical  churches,  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant, 
and  the  object  in  view  has  been  to  find  the  true  solution  of  the 
problem.  These  Outline  Notes  aim,  in  a  condensed  form,  to 
present  a  full  discussion,  in  all  its  bearings,  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church.  Though  professedly  based  upon  Dr.  Luthardt's 
Kompendiuui  der  Doginatik  and  Dr.  Krauth's  Manuscript 
Lectures  (some  of  which  have  been  published),  the  writer  does 
not  seek  to  intrench  himself  behind  these  authorities.  These 
notes  are  such  as  a  professor  of  theology  would  use  as  the  basis 
of  oral  lectures.  They  are  the  result  of  twenty  years'  discus- 
sion in  the  class  room,  and  have  gradually  assumed  the  present 
form. 

The  Literature  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  is  so  extensive, 
that  we  deemed  it  best  to  make  a  very  exclusive  selection.  The 
Table  of  Contents,  the  examination  questions,  and  the  Index, 
aim  at  making  ihis  small  book  more  serviceable  to  all  who  wish 
to  become  acquainted  with  its  contents. 

R.  F.  W. 

Chicago  Lutkerafi  Theological  Seminary^ 
Easter,  igoj. 


CONTENTS. 


The  Doctrine  of  the  Church. 

Sec.  Page 

1-7.    Introduction 9 

I.     The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

8-13.    The  Old  Testament  Teaching  OF  THE  Church 9,10 

14-19.    The  Usage  OF  ^t^r/i?jm  in  THE  New  Testament 10,11 

/.     The  Teaching  of  Jesus. 

20-22.    The  Spiritual  Nature  OF  THE  Church 11 

23-30.    Fuller  Description  OF  THE  Kingdom  OF  God 11-13 

31-40.    The  Gradual  Development  OF  this  Kingdom 13-15 

2.     The  Teaching  of  the  Apostles. 

41-46.    The  Teaching  OF  Peter 15,  16 

47-55.    The  Teaching  of  Paul 16-18 

47,48.    I.    The  Use  OF  THE  Word  EccLESiA 16 

49.  2.    The  Origin  OF  THE  Church 16,17 

50.  3.    The  Actual  Church 17 

51.  4.    The  Ideal  Church  is  A  Building 17 

52.  5.    The  Ideal  Church  is  A  Body 17.18 

53.  6.    The  Ideal  Church  is  A  Bride 18 

54.55-    7-    The  True  Office  OF  THE  Church 18 

56.    The  Teaching  OF  John 19 

II.    The  Church  Doctrine. 
/.     The  Ancient  Catholic  Church. 

57-63.    The  Ante-Nicene  Period  19-23 

57-59.    The  Teaching  OF  THE  Earliest  Period 19 

60.  The  Teaching  OF  Ignatius 19.20 

61.  The  Teaching  OF  iRENiEus 20 

62.  The  Teaching  OF  Cyprian 20,21 

63.  The  Development  of   the   Diocesan    Epis- 

copacy    21-23 

64-67.     The  Teaching  of  the  Creeds 23 

68-71.     The  Attributes  of    the  Church    According    to   the 

Church  Fathers 23-27 

68.  I.    The  Unity  OF  THE  Church 23-25 

69.  2.    The  Holiness  OF  THE  Church 25 

70.  3.    The  Catholicity  OF  THE  Church 25,26 

71.  4.    The  Apostolicity  OF  THE  Church 26,27 

72.  Montanism,  Novatianism,  Donatism 27,  28 

2.      The  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

73.  Teaching  OF  THE  Church  OF  Rome 28,29 

74.  Roman  Theory  More  Fully  Stated 29,30 

75-78.    The  Romish  Doctrine  of  the  Supremacy  of  the  Pope 

Examined 3i-38 

79.     Papal  Infallibility  Examined 38.  39 

80-82.     Romish  Marks  of  THE  Church  Examined 39-42 

J.     The  Protestant  Church. 

83.  In  What  THE  Weakness  OF  Protestantism  Lies 42 

84.  The  Cause  OF  Protestant  Divisions 42 

85.  First  Differejtce :    As  to  the  Silence  of  Scripture 43 

86.  Second  Difference:    As  TO  the  Value  of  the  Testimony 

of  the  Church 43.  44 

87.  Summary 44 


CONTENTS 


4.     Lutheran  Protestantism. 

88,89.    Teaching  OF  Art.  VII.  OF  Augsburg  Confession 44 

90.  Teaching  of  Art.  VIII 44.  45 

91.  Teaching  of  Apology 45.  46 

92.  Teaching  OF  Smalcald  Articles 46 

93.  Teaching  OF  Large  Catechism 46 

94.  Teaching  of  Formula  of  Concord 47 

5.     Lecture  on  Art.  VU.  of  Augsburg  Confession. 

95.  Outline  OF  Dr.  Krauth's  Lecture 47-53 

6.     Teaching  of  Our  Older  Dogmaticians. 

96.  The  Teaching  OF  Luther 54 

97,98.    The  Teaching  OF  Melanchthon 54 

99.    The  Teaching  of  Chemnitz,  Hutter,   Gerhard,   and 

Quenstedt 55 

100.    Scientific  Presentation 56-60 

1-7.    The  Attributes  OF  THE  Church 56 

8.    The  Church  Universal 57 

q.    A  Particular  Church 57 

10.  The  Pure  Church 58 

11.  Marks  OF  A  Pure  Church 58 

12,13.    The  Synthetic  AND  Representative  Church.  59.  60 

7.     The  Later  Development  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church. 

101.  1-3.    Its  Tendency  TO  Disintegration 60 

4,5.    Rationalism  and  SupERNATURALisM 61 

6,7.    Kant  and  Schleiermacher 61 

8-10.    Hegel  and  Rothe 61 

ii.    dorner 61 

12.  Martensen 02 

13.  Stahl,  Vilmar,  Loehe,  and  the  Erlangen  School  63 

8.     Theories  of  Church  Government. 

102.  Four  Leading  Views 63-65 

1.  Roman  Catholic  View 63 

2.  Anglican  Theory 64 

3.  Presbyterian  Polity 65 

4.  Congregational  Polity 65 

9.     Constitution  of  the  Church  in  Apostolic  Times. 

103.  The  Object  OF  Ecclesiastical  Polity 66 

104.  Constitution  OF  THE  Church  in  Apostolic  Times 66 

105.  The  Diaconate ^^-^2 

106.  Bishops  and  Presbyters 67,  68 

107.  Development  IN  Gentile  Churches 68 

10.     Development  of  the  Episcopal  Hierarchy. 

108.  Gradual  Development  OF  THE  Diocesan  Episcopate —  68 

109.  Synods 68 

no.    The  Metropolitan  Constitution 69 

111.  The  Church  AND  Civil  Orders 7° 

112.  Church  Polity  During  the  Middle  Ages 70 

//.     Church  Polity  of  the  Reformation  Period. 

113.  Church  Polity  OF  the  Reformation 70 

114.  ChvrchVo-lxty  hcco'R.T>\^G  TO  ra-E  Augsburg  Cottfession,.  71 

115.  According  to  THE  ^/cj/cj^j  OF  Ecclesiastical  Orders 72 

116.  Of  Human  Traditions 73 

117.  Of  Ecclesiastical  Power 73 

118.  Stnalcald  Articles.  OV  th-eVo-WEKOV  tweK^^S 74 

119.  Of  Excommunication 74 

120.  Of  THE  Power  AND  Jurisdiction  OF  Bishops 75 

121.  Teaching  of  Luther 75 


CONTENTS 

12a.    The  Teaching  OF  Melanchthon 77 

123.  The  Episcopal,  Territorial,  and  Collegi al  Systems 77,  78 

124.  State  and  Church 78 

12.     Studies  in  Lutheran  Church  Polity. 

125.  Introduction  TO  Lutheran  Church  Polity 79 

/;?.     Annotations  on  Lutheran  Church  Polity 

126.  Principles  of  Church  Polity  Adopted  by  the  General 

Council 81-89 

127.  Two  Extreme  Views  of  Lutheran  Church  Polity 89,  90 

128.  Stahl's  Review  of  Walther's  Kirche  unci  Ami 90,  92 

129.  Annotations  on  Stahl's  Review  of  Walther 92,  93 

14.     Literature. 

t.    General  Works 94 

2.  History  of  Doctrines 94 

3.  General  Doctrinal  Works 94 

1.  Baptist 94,  95 

2.  Congregational 95 

3.  Disciples  of  Christ 95 

""4.    Dutch  Reformed  Church 95 

.    5.    Episcopal  (Church  of  England)  95 

"^6.    German  Reformed  Church 95 

7.  Mediating  Lutheran 95 

8.  Confessional  Lutheran 95.96 

9.  Methodist   96 

10.  Moravians 96 

11.  Presbyterian 96 

12.  Roman  Catholic 96 

13.  Greek  Catholic 97 

4.  Special  Works  on  the  Church  and  Church  FoLiTY 97-99 

1.  Episcopal  or  Anglican 97 

2.  Congregationalism 97 

3.  Lutheran  Protestantism 98 

4.  Presbyterianism 98 

5.  Roman  Catholicism 99 

Examination  Questions 101 

Index 116 


SYLLABUS. 

PART    VI. 

ECCLESIOLOGIA,     OR    THE    DOCTRINE    CONCERNING    THE    ChURCH. 

Sec.  I.  The  Essential  Character  and  Attributes  of  the 
Church. 

1.  The  whole  field  of  Dogmatics  and  Polemics  is  in  some 
shape  or  other  involved  in  the  doctrine  concerning  the  Church. 

2.  It  is  the  great  question  of  the  day,  and  to  give  a  complete 
Bibliography  would  require  a  volume. 

3.  The  fact  of  the  establishment  of  the  Church  by  the 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  the  Apostolic  doctrine  of 
the  spiritual  body  of  Christ,  if  compared  with  the  actual  character 
and  condition  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  teaches  us  that  in  the 
Church,  i.  e.,  in  the  assembly  or  communion  of  the  people  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  spiritual  essence  is  to  be  distinguished  from 
that  which  is  actually  developed  by  experience  and  presented  in  it 
{Luthardt). 

4.  According  to  its  spiritual  essence  the  Church  is  the  collec- 
tion or  assembly  of  believers  who  are  united  in  the  Holy  Ghost 
with  Christ  their  invisible  Head,  and  with  one  another.  It 
is  also  the  institution  which  gathers  men  by  the  visible  means 
of  grace  and  administers  these  means  in  the  service  of  Christ 
{Luthardt). 

5.  This  spiritual  nature  of  the  Church's  essence  is  shared 
also  by  its  attributes  of  unity,  holiness,  apostolicity,  and  catho- 
licity. Consequently  only  those  are  in  truth  members  of  the 
Church  who  are  participants  in  this,  its  spiritual  essence 
(Luthardt). 

6.  But  inasmuch  as  the  Church  has  the  fulfilling  of  a  histori- 
cal vocation  in  the  world,  it  must  become  in  its  actual  development 
an  external  organization  rightly  constituted, — so  that  to  the  Church 
in  this  sense  belong  all  those  who  are  part  of  the  outward  organism 
{Luthardt). 

7.  It  is  the  laying  stress  upon  the  one  side,  upon  this  out- 
ward organism, — or  on  the  other  side,  upon  the  spiritual  essence  of 
the  Church, — which  makes  and  marks  the  distinction  between  the 
Roman  and  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  conception  of  the  Church, 
with  which  latter  view  the  whole  Protestant  world,  with  greater  or 
less  consistency,  supposes  itself  to  coincide  {Krauth), 

I.    The  Scripture  Doctrine. 

8.  Three  Hebrew  words  are  used  in  the  O.  T.  to  designate 
the  congregation  of  the  people,  qahal,  "assembly,"  edha,  "con- 
gregation," and  miqra,  "convocation."  The  first  two  occur 
together  in  Ex.  12:6  and  Num.  14:5. 

9.  The  Septuagint  (Greek  O.T. )  uses  mainly  the  word  ecclesia 


10  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

to  translate  qahal  (some  70  times),  but  never  uses  it  to  translate 
the  other  two  words. 

10.  It  uses  the  word  syyiagogueiox  the  most  part  (some  100 
times)  to  translate  edha,  and  about  25  times  to  translate  qahal. 
The  authorised  English  Version  shows  the  same  lack  of  consistent 
rendering,  but  the  Revised  Version  is  more  consistent,  translating 
as  above. 

11.  Although  the  Septuagint  put  synagogue  ior  edha,  and 
as  a  rule  ecclesia  for  qahal,  it  is  diflScult  to  decide  whether 
any  distinction  can  be  drawn  in  meaning  as  used  in  the  O.  T. 

12.  Later  Judaism,  according  to  Schuerer,  seems  to  have 
made  a  distinction,  edha,  the  syjiagogiie,  being  the  actual  con- 
gregation as  constituted  and  existing  in  some  one  place,  and 
qahal,  the  ecclesia,  on  the  other  hand,  being  the  ideal  church  of 
Israel,  the  assembly  of  those  called  by  God  to  salvation. 

13.  It  is  thus  easy  to  understand  why  the  word  ecclesia  dis- 
places the  word  syyiagogue  in  Christian  circles,  and  in  the  N.  T. 
we  find  ecclesia  only  twice  applied  to  the  O.  T.  Church  (Acts  7:38; 
Heb.  2:12),  the  word  synagogue  everywhere  else  designating  the 
congregation  of  the  Jews  (Acts  13:43;  James  2:2)  or  their  place  of 
assembly,  save  in  Rev.  2:9;  3:9. 

14.  Just  as  in  the  O.  T.  the  people  of  Israel  are  characterized 
as  "the  assembly"  [qahal)  "of  the  Lord"  (Num.  16:3),  or  "of 
God"  (Xeh.  13:1),  so  our  Lord  not  without  due  reason  designates 
thenewsociety  of  whichHeisthe  Founder, M^  Church  {ecclesia, i.e., 
qahal.  Matt,  16:18),  the  N.  T.  people  of  God  thus  corresponding 
with  the  O.  T.  assembly,  as  fruit  corresponds  with  the  blossom,  or 
antitype  with  type. 

15.  The  word  ecclesia  is  used  in  the  N.  T.  in  its  three 
distinct  stages  of  meaning: 

i)  In  its  classical  meaning,  as  an  assembly  of  the  people, 
possessed  of  the  rights  of  citizenship,  convened  for  the  transaction 
of  public  affairs.     So  used  in  Acts  19:32,  39,  41. 

2)  In  lis  Je7vish  sense,  referring  to  the  O.  T.  Church,  as  in 
Acts  7:38;  Heb.  2:12. 

3)  In  its  distinctively  Christian  sense. 

16.  The  origin  of  the  word  Church  is  somewhat  uncertain. 
It  seems  best  to  trace  it  (and  Danish  kirke,  Swedish  kyrka,  Ice- 
landic kirkj'a,  Dutch  kerk,  German  kirche)  to  the  Greek  word 
ku7'iakon,  a  church,  neuter  of  kuriakos,  belonging  to  the  Lord, 
from  the  Greek  kurios,  the  Lord. 

17.  The  usage  of  the  word  ecclesia  (in  its  Christian  sense) 
in  the  N.  T.  is  two-fold. 

18.  I.  It  denotes  the  entire  assembly  of  saints  (qahal),  all 
who  are  in  fellowship  with  Christ — the  entire  Church  universal. 
This  is  its  primary  meaning. 

This  is  clear  from  the  O.  T.  use  of  the  word,  and  from  the 
fundamental  statement  of  Christ  in  Matt.  16:18,  "Upon  this  rock 
I  will  build  my  Church."  So  Acts  5:11;  9:31;  12:1,  5;  20:28; 
Gal.  1:13;  I  Cor.  6:4;  10:32;  11:22;  12:28;  14:4,  5,  12;  15:9; 
Rom.  16:23;  Col.  1:18,  24;  Eph.  1:22;  3:10,  21:5:23,  24,  25,  27, 
29,  32;  Phil.  3:6;  Heb.  12:23;  ^  "^ivci.  3:5,  15;  etc. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS.  11 

19.  II.  The  name  is  given  to  congregations  confined  to 
particular  places, 

i)  To  a  single  congregation,  Acts  8:1;  11:22  26;  13:1;  14:23; 
15:3,  4,  22;  18:22;  etc. 

2)  To  congregations  at  various  places,  using  the  plural,— 
churches:  Acts  15:41;  16:5;  i  Thess.  2:14;  2  Thess.  1:4;  Gal. 
1:2,  22;  I  Cor.  7:17;  11:16;  14:33,  34;  16:1,  19J  2  Cor.  8:1,  18,  19, 
23,  24;  11:8,  28;  12:13;  Rom.  16:16;  etc. 

a)     The  Teaching  of  Jesus. 

20.  Our  Lord  makes  the  first  use  of  the  term  (Matt.  16:18), 
and  by  the  term  church  is  meant  the  entire  communion  or  assem- 
bly of  N.  T.  believers,  which  was  to  consist,  according  to  Matt. 
18:17,  of  individual  congregations  or  churches. 

21.  The  true  doctrine  concerning  the  essential  character, 
/.  e.,  the  spiritual  nature,  of  the  Church  is  given  us  in  Christ's 
teaching  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God,  as  recorded  in  Matt. 
13:1-52.  This  chapter  exhausts  generically  the  doctrine  concern- 
ing the  Church. 

i)  The  parable  of  the  Sower  (Matt.  13:3-9,-  18-23)  teaches  us 
that  the  Church  is  generated  by  the  Word  of  God  rightly  received 
in  faith; 

2)  The  parable  of  the  Tares  (Matt.  13:24-30,  36-43)  teaches 
us  the  mixed  condition  of  the  Church  as  a  visible  institution,  and 
the  impossibility  of  having  on  earth  a  perfectly  pure  visible 
Church.  The  seed  in  this  parable  are  men,  not  doctrines, — yet 
they  are  such  men  as  the  doctrines  they  embody  make  them — 
wheat  and  tares; 

3)  The  parable  of  the  Mustard  Seed  (Matt.  13:31,  32)  empha- 
sizes its  little  beginning,  its  steady  progress,  and  its  final  mighty 
consummation; 

4)  The  parable  of  the  Leaven  (Matt,  13:33)  teaches  its  self- 
diffusing  manner  of  working  and  its  all-assimilating  power; 

5)  The  parable  of  the  Treasure  hidden  in  the  field  (Matt. 
13:44)  sets  forth  its  intrinsic  preciousness  as  found,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  by  those  who  were  not  searching  for  it; 

6)  The  parable  of  the  Pearl  of  great  price  (Matt,  13:45,  46) 
teaches  the  incomparable  glory  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  found 
by  the  earnest  seeker; 

7)  The  parable  of  the  Draw-net  (Matt.  13:47-50)  teaches  that 
there  will  be  a  final  complete  sundering  of  the  evil  from  the  good 
after  the  all-comprehending  work  of  the  Church, 

22.  We  must  distinguish  between  the  Church  as  it  exists  in 
its  visible  form  as  an  actual  society  of  professing  Christians,  and 
the  Kingdom  of  God  in  its  final  consummation.  In  Matt,  16:18, 
19,  where  both  terms  ("Church",  "Kingdom  of  God")  occur,  the 
Kingdom  of  God  is  the  future  and  heavenly  counterpart  of  the 
Church  on  earth, 

23.  With  reference  to  time^  Jesus  describes  His  Kingdom 
under  a  two-fold  aspect: 

i)  As  already  begun  and  existing  in  the  present  (Matt.  12:28). 
It  coincides  with  His  appearance  (Matt  ii:ii,  12);  its  starting 


12  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

point  is  with  John  the  Baptist  (Luke  i6:i6);  it  has  a  real  exist- 
ence (Luke  17:21),  and  one  can  enter  into  it  through  regeneration 
(John  3:3,  5). 

2)  As  something  future  (Matt.  6:10,  "thy  Kingdom  come"; 
16:28;  Luke  21:31;  22:29,30;  etc.). 

24.  With  reference  to  the  ?iature  of  the  Kingdom: 

i)  It  is  a  divnie  order  of  thiyigs,  reahzed  through  Christ 
the  Redeemer.  It  is  not  of  this  world,  not  to  be  supported  by 
force  (John  18:36);  it  is  distinct  from  the  civil  order  of  the  world 
(Matt.  11:12);  its  object  is  to  give  "unto  God  the  things  that  are 
God's",  and  "unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's"  (Matt.  22: 
17-21);  the  Church  has  no  part  in  questions  of  mere  earthly  law 
or  equity,  and  Christ  declines  to  be  a  Judge  or  decider  in  the 
sphere  of  civil  law  (Luke  12:13,  14). 

As  the  Kingdom  is  being  realized  through  Christ,  it  is  His 
Kingdom  (Matt.  16:18;  13:41),  and  the  unveiling  of  it  is  the  revela- 
tion of  the  Son  of  Man  (Luke  17:22-24,  30). 

2)  The  development  of  the  Kingdom  is  from  within.  It 
does  not  consist  essentially  in  outward  ordinances,  but  is  internal 
and  spiritual  (Luke  17:20,  21),  "the  Kingdom  of  God  cometh  not 
v.'ith  observation",  i.  e.,  with  outward  show,  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  can  be  watched  with  the  eyes. 

25.  The  essential  constituent  of  the  Church  \s  personal  com- 
munion with  Christ,  a  communion  on  which  our  Lord  dwells  with 
special  fulness  in  His  last  recorded  discourse  (John  15:1-17:26). 
The  relation  of  the  Church  to  Christ  is  that  of  branches  to  the 
vine  (John  15.5),  so  intimate  that  the  unity  of  Person  within  the 
Godhead  is  offered  as  its  parallel,  "that  they  may  all  be  one,  even 
as  thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  in 
us"  (John  17:21),  "I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be 
perfected  into  one"  (17:23),  and  the  Saviour  closes  with  the  words, 
"and  I  in  them"  (17:26). 

26.  As  a  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  it  is  a  fellowship  of  men 
united  for  the  possession  of  a  common  good,  or  to  exercise  some 
common  action  (the  parable  of  the  Tares,  Matt.  13:24-30,  37-43; 
of  the  great  Marriage  Feast,  Matt.  22:2-14;  of  the  Ten  Virgins, 
Matt.  25:1-13;  of  the  Laborers  in  the  Vineyard,  20:1-16;  etc.). 

27.  It  is  to  embrace  humanity  as  a  zvhole,  and  the  gospel  is 
to  be  preached  to  the  whole  world  (Matt.  13:38;  24:14,  28:19). 
Jesus  has  other  sheep  (John  10:16);  He  invites  them  from  the  high- 
ways and  lanes  (Matt.  22:10;  Luke  14:21). 

28.  It  comprises  heaven  and  earth,  likewise  the  coming 
periods  of  the  world,  both  before  and  after  the  Judgment.  Not 
only  does  it  exist  on  earth  (Matt.  12:28;  Luke  17:20,  21),  and  all 
nations  shall  receive  it  (Matt.  13:32;  8:11;  24:14),  but  its  proto- 
type is  the  kingdom  of  God  in  heaven  (Matt.  6:10;  5.10,12;  6:33). 
It  embraces  all  the  periods  of  man's  history,  from  Christ 
onwards  (Matt.  4:17;  Luke  17:20;  Matt.  28:20);  There  are  two 
chief  periods  of  God's  kingdom  which  are  separated  by  the  epoch 
of  Judgment:  i)  this  age  or  cso7i,  during  which  the  Kingdom 
of  God  and  of  the  world  exist  together, — a  mixture  of  good  and 
evil,  and  2)  the  age  (or  aeon)  zvhich  is  to  come  (Matt.  12:32), 
when  the  Kingdom  of  God  shall  exist  by  itself  in  its  purity  and 


THE  TEACHING  OF  JESUS.  l3 

perfection  ("when  the  righteous  shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the 
Kingdom  of  their  Father, "  (Matt.  13:40-43).  In  Mark  10:30  and 
Luke  20:34,  35,  these  two  periods  are  designated  i)  as  "this  time," 
"this  world"  (or  age)  and  2)  "the  age  to  come,"  "that  world"  (or 
age). 

29.  This  Kingdom  which  has  a  gradual  development  among 
men  extends  heyoyid  the  world  of  7ne?i,  and  comprehends  the  good 
angels.  They  are  His  angels  (Matt.  16:27;  13:41;  24:31),  and 
are  regarded  as  members  of  His  Kingdom,  and  now  in  heaven  do 
God's  will.  Therefore  the  Kingdom  of  God  already  exists  in 
heaven  in  its  truth  and  reality,  entirely  setting  aside  its  existence 
or  continuance  on  earth. 

30.  From  the  fellowship  of  believers  with  Christ  necessarily 
follows  the  spiritual  and  internal  fellowship  of  believers  with  one 
another  (John  15:12,  17;  17:21). 

31.  In  order  to  establish  His  Church,  our  Saviour  gathered 
His  disciples  about  Him,  promised  them  the  Holy  Spirit,  gave 
them  the  commandment  that  the  gospel  should  be  preached  in  all 
the  world  to  every  creature,  instituted  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism 
and  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  gave  them  the  principles  underlying 
Church  discipline,  leaving  free  all  merely  human  external  ordi- 
nances, limiting  them  only  to  a  general  conformity  to  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  His  teaching. 

32.  The  Church  as  developing  itself  from  within,  depends 
for  its  growth  on  the  communicatio7i  of  the  life  of  Christy  and  is 
founded,  maintaiyied  and  guided  by  Him. 

It  is  Christ  who  builds  His  Church  on  the  rock  Peter  (Matt. 
16:18),  and  He  will  quicken  and  guide  it  unto  the  end  of  this 
world  (Matt.  28:20);  even  to  the  smallest  gathering  of  His  people 
in  His  name,  there  He  will  be  present  in  all  authority  and  with 
all  power  (Matt.  i8:ig,  20);  the  Church  being  founded  and  guided 
by  Him,  has  an  immovable  existence  (Matt.  16:18)  and  a  sure  and 
firm  continuance,  and  there  is  nothing  on  earth  or  in  Hades  that 
shall  prevail  against  it  (Matt.  16:18). 

33.  The  special  signs  which  give  manifestation  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Church  are  the  preaching  of  the  Word  of  Christ,  and 
the  administration  of  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  and  of  the  Lord  s 
Supper. 

34.  The  Word  of  Christ  is  the  authentic  testimony  of  God's 
Son  (John  3:11),  the  Word  of  God  (John  12:48-50;  14:10;  7:16; 
17:6);  it  is  the  spirit  and  the  life  (John  6:63);  by  this  word  faith  is 
brought  about  (John  17:20;  5:24);  it  is  the  truth  which  sets  free 
from  sin  and  sanctifies  (John  8:31,  32,  36;  17:17,  19);  by  this 
word  unbelievers  will  be  judged  at  the  last  day  (John  12:48). 
Thus  the  Word  of  Christ  is  essentially  the  basis  or  groundwork  of 
God's  Kingdom  on  earth.     Men  possess  it  only  through  Christ. 

35.  From  Matt.  28:19;  Mark  16:16;  John  3:5  we  learn  that 
baptism,  in  addition  to  the  word,  is  also  the  way  to  Christ, — and 
for  this  reason  the  Lord  caused  His  disciples  to  baptize  (John 
4:1,  2). 

36.  The  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  took  place  at  the 
last  Passover  meal  (Matt.  26:26-29;  Mark  14:22-25;  Luke  22:14-20, 
and  although  they  were  sitting  at  the  table  at  the  time,  we  must 


14  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

carefully  distinguish  it  from  the  Passover  meal  itself,  for  both 
Luke  (22:20)  and  Paul  (i  Cor.  11:25),  most  distinctly  say  after 
supper.  Just  as  the  Word  and  Baptism  are  connected  in  bringing 
about  faith  and  an  entrance  into  the  Kingdom  of  God,  so  the 
Word  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  connected  in  strengthening  the 
faith  of  believers,  and  in  continually  quickening  and  confirming 
a  spiritual  communion  of  love. 

37.  Thus  the  three  7nea?is  of  grace  are  the  inexbaustible 
and  life-giving  groundwork  of  the  Church  on  earth,  as  a  community 
of  believers,  but  only  in  this  age  or  aeon.  The  Church  will  con- 
tinue in  the  future  age  or  aeon,  but  not  in  the  same  form  or  shape, 
for  evidently  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  can  only  remain 
entirely  the  same  so  long  as  the  material  elements  are  entirely  the 
same  (Matt.  26:29;  Mark  14:25;  Luke  22:18). 

38.  Christ  also  clearly  teaches  us  that  in  this  age  or  aeon,  as 
the  Church  exists  on  earth,  there  is  a  two-fold  feature,  which  we 
cannot  overlook: 

i)  In  the  Church  there  is  a  mingling  of  genuine  and  non- 
genuine  members.  See  especially  the  Parable  of  the  Tares  (Matt. 
13:24,  30,  37-43).  Not  even  all  those  who  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord  are  members  of  His  Kingdom  (Matt.  7:21). 

2)  There  are  distinctive  grades  among  the  genuine  members 
of  the  Church.  Some  are  eminent  in  activity  and  take  the  lead, 
while  others  become  recipients  of  their  ministry  and  guidance. 
Our  Lord  saw  that  Peter  was  the  natural  leader  of  the  Twelve 
(John  1:42;  Matt.  16:18,  19;  Luke  22:32;  John  21:15).  The 
Apostles  themselves  as  a  body,  are  appointed  as  the  teachers  and 
guides  of  other  believers  (Acts  1:8;  John  15:27;  Matt.  28:19;  John 
20:21-23). 

39.  The  gradual  development  of  the  Church  on  earth  and 
its  final  consummation  are  presented  in  the  form  of  three  chief 
epochs: 

i)  The  first  epoch  is  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  State  and 
Church. 

a)  The  Kingdom  of  God  could  make  its  appearance  only  in 
Israel  (John  4:22;  Matt.  10:5,  6,  etc.),  and  in  it  the  Church  first 
grew  up,  although  it  is  destined  to  embrace  all  nations. 

h)  The  opposition  of  the  Jews  necessitated  another  course  of 
development,  and  resulted  in  a  judgment  upon  Israel  as  a  nation. 
Our  Saviour  most  distinctly  declared  this  judgment,  again  and 
again  (the  Parable  of  the  Wicked  Husbandmen,  Matt.  21:33-45; 
Mark  12:1-12;  Luke2o:9-i9;  of  the  Marriage  Feast,  Matt.  22:1-14; 
especially  in  the  prophecy  concerning  the  Destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, Matt.  24:5-28;  Mark  13:5-23;  Luke  21:8-24).  The  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  has  become  an  epoch  in  the  development  of  the 
Church.  This  epoch  had  a  two-fold  character — it  was  a  judgment 
upon  Israel,  and  a  deliverance  for  the  Christian  Church. 

2)  The  second  epoch  is  the  period  of  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity among  all  nations. 

a)  The  progress  of  God's  Kingdom  on  earth  is  left  to  the 
Church  and  her  activities. 

h)  The  Parable  of  '  'the  Seed  growing  Secretly"  (Mark  4:26-29) 
teaches  us  that  the  Lord  especially  interferes  only  at  the  beginning 


THE  TEACHING  OF  PETER.  15 

and  at  the  end,  in  the  sowing  and  in  the  reaping,  that  having 
planted  the  growing  corn,  the  Church  develops  by  the  means  that 
He  as  the  Head  of  the  Church  has  entrusted  to  her. 

c)  This  course  of  development  of  the  Church,  through  its 
manifold  phases,  is  largely  conditioned  by  the  relation  which  the 
Church  bears  to  her  Head  and  Lord,  even  to  Christ  Himself, — on 
the  zeal  and  faithfulness  of  believers, 

d)  This  period  has  already  lasted  longer  than  seemed  likely 
at  the  beginning,  and  may  end  in  the  near  future,  for  the  last 
epoch  will  surely  come  to  pass. 

3)  The  ^ast  e^och,  the  consummation  of  the  age  ^Matt. 
i3:39>  40;  24:3;  28:20),  begins  with  the  day  of  Judgment  (Matt. 
24:29-31,  37-39;  Luke  21:25-27).  It  is  ushered  in  by  the  Paroiisia 
or  the  Second  Advent  of  the  Lord  (Matt.  24:27,  39;  Luke  17:24, 
30).  With  this  Parousia  a  continuous  Judgment  in  the  Church  is 
connected,  a  Judgment  distinguished  from  the  universal  Judgment, 
for  it  severs  those  who  are  true  believers  from  those  who  only 
outwardly  profess  to  be  Christians.  This  is  what  is  meant  by  the 
marriage  feast  (Matt.  22:2-14),  to  this  marriage  feast  the  five  wise 
virgins  entered  (Matt.  25:10),  this  is  the  redemption  spoken  of  in 
Luke  21:28.  The  final  or  universal  Judgment  follows  at  the  end 
of  time,  at  the  close  of  the  consummation  of  the  age,  at  the  end  of 
the  world  as  a  thing  in  time. 

40.  Although  the  assembly  of  God  (Neh.  13:1),  called  also 
the  assembly  of  the  Lord  (Deut.  23:1),  existed  in  O.  T.  times, 
nevertheless  we  may  say  that  the  Church  of  Christ  (Matt.  16:18; 
Rom.  16:16)  was  properly  founded  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  by  no 
other  means  than  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  token  and 
proof  of  its  essentially  spiritual  uature, 

b)     The  Teaching  of  the  Apostles. 

41.  I.  The  teaching  of  Peter.  Those  who  wish  to  connect 
themselves  with  the  Church  of  Christ  must  be  baptized  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  the  remission  of  sins  (Acts  2:38,  41; 
10:48),  and  the  Church  is  bound  together  and  grows  by  believers 
participating  in  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles,  by  brotherly  fellow- 
ship with  one  another,  by  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  by 
uniting  in  common  prayer  (Acts  2:42). 

42.  As  a  house  as  a  whole  consists  of  different  parts,  so  the 
Church  of  God  is  being  continually  built  up  of  individual  believers 
who  are  living  stones  in  this  spiritual  house  (i  Pet.  2:5). 

43.  The  Church  is  represented  as  a  holy,  priestly  people  of 
God,  "an  elect  race,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  people  for 
God's  own  possession,"  who  are  to  "show  forth  the  excellencies  of 
Him  who  called  them  out  of  darkness  into  His  marvelous  light' ' 
(i  Pet.  2:9,  10). 

44.  Christians  are  called  "an  elect  race"  inasmuch  as  God 
has  chosen  them  out  of  the  kingdom  of  the  world  to  be  His  own; 
they  are  a  '  'royal  priesthood, ' '  because  the  Church  is  a  kingdom 
of  which  all  the  members  are  priests  (i  Pet,  2:5;  Rev.  1:6;  5:10), 
who  serve  the  King  with  spiritual  sacrifices;  these  spiritual 
sacrifices  which    are    acceptable    to  God  through   Jesus    Christ 


16  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

(i  Pet.  2:5),  are:  a  spiritual  sacrifice  a)  of  their  bodies 
(Rom.  12:1), — including  true  self-denial  (Heb.  13:16;  Phil. 
4:18)  and  the  taking  up  of  one's  cross  daily  (Luke  9:23),  and 
b)  of  prayer  and  praise  (Heb.  13:15;  Rev.  8:3,  4);  they  are 
called  a  "holy  nation"  (Ex.  19:6;  Eph.  5:25-27),  because  God 
has  "chosen  us  in  Christ,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
Ikai  tve  should  he  holy  and  without  blemish  before  Him"  (Eph. 
1:4);  they  are  "a  people  for  God's  own  possession"  (Ex.  19:5; 
Deut.  7:6;  Mai.  3:17;  but  especially  Isa.  43:21),  for  to  this  end 
Christ  died,  that  "He  might  redeem  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify 
unto  Himself  a  people  for  His  ozv?i  j^ossession,  zealous  of  good 
works"  (Tit.  2:14). 

45.  Israel  was  once  the  Church  of  God,  but  now  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  consisting  of  believing  Jews  and  converted  Gentiles, 
has  become  the  Church  of  God  (i  Pet.  2:5,  9,  10;  4.17): 

46.  Christ  as  the  Head  of  the  Church  is  both  Shepherd  and 
Bishop  (overseer)  of  the  souls  of  believers  (i  Pet.  2:25).  As  a 
shepherd  Christ  nourishes,  strengthens,  and  feeds;  as  a  bishop  he 
searcheth  and  seeketh  out  His  sheep  and  disciplines  them. 

47.  II.      The  teachiyig  of  Paid. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Church  is  fully  developed  by  Paul  in  his  four 
great  doctrinal  Epistles  (Gal.,  i  Cor.,  2  Cor.  Rom. )  and  in  his 
Pastoral  Epistles,  but  most  fully  stated  in  his  profound  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians.  Although  it  would  be  interesting  to  develop  his 
teaching  in  each  of  his  epistles  separately,  it  will  be  best  to  give  it 
in  its  totality. 

48.  The  tise  of  the  zuord  Ecclesia.  Paul  uses  the  word 
Church  in  its  three-fold  sense, 

1 )  As  designating  the  assembly  of  Church  members  in  a  sbigle 
congregation  in  any  definite  place  (Rom.  16:1,  5;  i  Cor.  1:2; 
4:17;  11:18;  etc.  Often  in  the  plural,  Rom.  16:4,  16;  1  Cor.  7:17; 
11:16;  16:1,  19;  etc.). 

2)  As  designating  the  collective  community  of  Christians,  the 
visible  Churcli  Universal,  ' '  all  that  call  upon  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  every  place,"  i  Cor.  1:2  (i  Cor.  10:32;  12:28; 
15:9;  Gal.  1:13;  Phil.  3:6;  I  Tim.  3:2,  15). 

3)  As  designating  the  ideal  Church,  the  invisible  Church 
Universal  (so  especially  in  Ephesians;  also  Col.  1:18,  24;  2:19; 
3:15;  etc.). 

49.  The  origin  of  the  Church,  In  Christ  Himself  the 
Church  originates.     It  is  the  emanation  of  His  life. 

i)  Paul  regards  baptism  as  that  act  by  which  the  Christian 
participates  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  is  put  into  a  real  living  fellow- 
ship with  Christ  (Rom.  6:3-5;  Gal.  3  :27,28;  i  Cor.  1:2;  6:11,  19); 

2)  By  this  living  fellowship  all  are  equally  connected  with  the 
living  center,  even  Christ,  and  so  have  become  one  organism, 
"one  body  in  Christ,  and  severally  members  one  of  another" 
(Rom.  12:5),  "for  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized  into  one 
body  "  (i  Cor,  12:13). 

3)  The  Christian  community  was  in  its  origin  a  house-con- 
gregation (Acts  1:13-15;  2:46;  5:42;  17:7;  20:8,  20;  I  Cor.  16:15,  19; 
Rom.  16:5;  Col.  4:15;  Philemon  2;  etc.).  The  Church  in  a  city 
was  composed  of  a  number  of  these  house-congregations  and  for 


THE  TEACHING  OF  PAUL.  17 

the  purpose  of  direction  and  administration  the  unit  was  the  city- 
congregation  and  not  the  house-congregation  (Acts  13:1;  20:28),  and 
for  this  reason  Paul  always  directs  his  letters  to  the  Church  of  the 
city  and  not  to  the  house-congregation  (i  Cor.  1:1,  2), 

50.  A  distinction  is  drawn  between  the  actual  Church  and 
the  ideal  Church. 

i)  The  actual  OcsMToSx  is  composed  of  members  who  are  still  alive 
at  the  time  of  speaking,  and  includes  individuals  of  various  degrees 
of  imperfection.  It  is  the  actual  Church  to  which  reproof  and  blame 
are  addressed  (i  Cor.  1:10;  3:1;  5:1;  Gal.  3:1-3;  etc.);  the  actual 
visible  Church  does  not  only  contain  many  teachers  whose  work 
consists  simply  in  gathering  "wood,  hay,  and  stubble"  (i  Cor. 
3:12,  15),  but  many  of  the  professing  members  of  the  Church  are 
but  "wood,  hay,  and  stubble;"  the  actual  vsible  Church  is  ''the 
great  house  which  contains  not  only  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  but 
also  of  wood  and  earth;  and  some  unto  honor,  and  some  unto  dis- 
honor "  (2  Tim.  2:20).  Many  are  members  of  the  Church  exter- 
nally, and  ' '  name  the  name  of  the  Lord, ' '  but  do  not  depart  from 
unrighteousness  (2  Tim.  2:19). 

2)  The  ideal  Church  is  the  body  of  truebelievers,  in  living 
fellowship  with  Christ,  who,  although  ever  capable  of  progress 
and  higher  perfection  (Eph.  4:12-16,  are  washed  by  baptism  from 
every  stain  (i  Cor.  6:11;  Heb.  10:14;  i  John  3:9),  and  are  holy,  even 
saints  (Rom.  8:27;  i  Cor.  6:1,  2;  2  Cor.  1:1;  Eph.  1:1;  etc.).  It  is 
this  ideal  ChMxch.  which  shall  judge  the  world  (i  Cor.  6:2),  which 
is  sanctified  and  cleansed  ' '  by  the  washing  of  water  with  the  word 
.  .     .     .     .     the  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or  wrinkle  or 

any  such  thing holy  and  without  blemish"   (Eph. 

5:26,27). 

51.  The  Ideal  Church  is  sfoken  of  as  a  Building. 

i)  Although  Paul  in  i  Cor.  6:ig  regards  the  individual 
believer  as  "a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  (possibly  also  in  i  Cor. 
3:16  and  2  Cor.  6:16,  but  it  is  better  to  refer  temple  in  these  pages 
also  to  the  Church)  we  find  that  in  i  Cor.  3:9-15  he  compares  the 
Church  to  a  building,  a  spiritual  house,  whose  foundation  is  Jesus 
Christ,  on  which  he  and  all  ministers  of  the  Word  have  continu- 
ally to  build  (i  Cor.  3:9,  16;  2  Cor.  6:16;  i  Tim.  3:15;  Eph. 
2:21,  22;  Heb.  3:6).  This  agrees  with  Christ's  own  statement,  "I 
will  btnld  my  Church"  (Matt.  16:18),  and  with  Peter's  teaching 
that  the  Church  of  God  is  composed  or  built  up  of  individual 
believers  who  are  livi^ig  stones  in  the  spiritual  house,  resting  on 
Jesus  Christ,  the  chief  cornerstone  (i  Pet.  2:5-8). 

2)  In  Eph.  2:20-22  the  whole  Church  is  regarded  as  a  "holy 
temple,"  "a  habitation  of  God, "  the  foundation  being  the  apos- 
tles and  prophets,  Christ  Jesus  Himself  being  the  chief  corner- 
stone (Eph.  2:20),  in  which  building  each  individual  Christian  or 
congregation,  '  'fitly  framed  together, ' '  each  fitting  into  his  proper 
place,  and  the  whole  builded  together,"  i.  e.,  held  together  by 
Christ,  "groweth  into  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord"  (Eph.  2:21,  22). 

52.  The  Ideal  Church  is  spoken  of  as  a  Body. 

1)  This  is  the  figure  which  Paul  seems  to  prefer  (Rom.  12:5; 
I  Cor.  6:15;  10:17;  12:12-27;  Eph.  1:22,  23;  4:4,  12,  16;  5:23; 
Col.  1:18,  24;  2:19). 


18  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

2)  The  Church  is  "the  body  of  Christ"  (Eph.  1:23;  4:12; 
5:23,  30;  Col.  1:18,  24;  2:19),  a  name  "infinite  in  depth  and  yet 
transparently  clear,  both  bodily  and  spiritual,  objective  and  sub- 
jective, open  and  mysterious,  at  the  same  time"  {Delitzsch). 

3)  In  I  Cor.  12:12-27  we  have  one  of  the  most  beautiful  illus- 
trations in  human  language  developing  the  organic  unity  of 
Christ's  one  body  and  the  manifold  offices  and  mutual  depend- 
ences of  its  many  members.  Compare  also  Rom.  12:4,  5,  where 
the  same  thought  is  presented. 

4)  Paul  also  emphasizes  the  fact  that  we  are  and  become  one 
body,  when  we  partake  in  the  body  of  Christ,  in  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per (i  Cor.  io;i6,  17). 

5)  Sometimes  Paul  identifies  Christ  with  the  whole  body, 
"for  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized  into  one  body"  (i  Cor. 
12:13),  for  "ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and  severally  members 
thereof"  (i  Cor.  12:27). 

6)  In  his  later  Epistles  Paul  emphasizes  the  thought  that 
Christ  is  the  head  of  the  body,  its  all-pervading  soul,  the  source  of 
its  life,  for  God  has  given  "Him  to  be  head  over  all  things  to  the 
Church,  which  is  his  body,  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in 
all"  (Eph.  1:22,  23).  See  also  Eph.  4:15;  5:23,24;  Col.  1:18; 
2:19. 

7)  In  the  essential  unity  which  pervades  the  body  all  distinc- 
tions are  abrogated.  There  is  one  perfectly  similar  communion  of 
spirit  with  God, — "there  is  one  body,  and  one  Spirit" — (Eph. 
4:4,  12);  there  can  be  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  neither  bond  nor 
free,  neither  male  nor  female,  "for  ye  all  are  one»in  Christ  Jesus" 
(Gal.  3:28), — Christ  has  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition 
between  Jew  and  Gentile  (Eph.  2: 13-18). 

53.  The  Ideal  Chicrch  is  spoken  of  as  a  Bride. 

i)  The  comparison  of  the  Church  to  a  bride,  "a  pure  virgin," 
is  first  met  with  in  2  Cor.  11:2,  "for  I  espoused  you  to  one  hus- 
band, that  I  might  present  you  as  a  pure  virgin  to  Christ."  The 
Church  is  this  virgin;  the  presentation  occurs  at  the  Farousia, 
when  Christ  appears  as  bridegroom  to  fetch  home  the  bride  (Matt. 
25:1-13;  Rev.  19:7-9). 

2)  This  is  a  great  mystery,  says  St.  Paul  (Eph.  5:32).  The 
Church  is  the  bride  of  Christ;  the  two  are  one  body,  just  as  man 
and  wife  are  one  body  (Eph.  5:23-32). 

54.  The  Church  of  the  living  God  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
the  truth  (i  Tim.  3:15).  A  pillar^  because  having  the  Spirit  of 
God  (even  the  Spirit  of  truth),  the  Church  supports  and  preserves 
divine  truth;  the  grou7id  or  stay  or  bulzt'ark  of  truth,  for  if  there 
were  no  Church  there  would  be  no  witness,  no  bulwark,  no  basis, 
nothing  whereon  acknowledged  truth  could  rest.  Note,  then,  the 
true  office  and  vocation  of  the  Church. 

55.  As  the  Church  depends  on  the  means  of  grace  (the  Word, 
Baptism,  and  Lord's  Supper)  for  her  existence  and  perpetuation, 
there  is  necessary  a  ministry  of  these  means, — "the  ministry  of 
the  Word"  (Acts  6:4;  i  Tim.  4:13,  15;  2  Tim.  4:2),  "the  minis- 
tration of  the  Spirit"  (2  Cor.  3:8),  of  which  ministry  there  were 
manifold  organs  (apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pastors,  teachers, 
Eph.  4:11).     Compare  i  Cor.  12:28. 


HISTORY   OF  THE    DOCTRINE   OF   THE   CHURCH.  19 

56.  III.      The  teaching  of  John. 

i)  Owing  to  the  peculiar  character  of  John's  mind,  the  idea 
of  the  Church  is  not  distinctly  brought  forward,  though  its  exists 
ence  is  implied  (3  John  6,9). 

2)  With  him  there  is,  like  with  St.  Paul,  a  visible  and  an 
invisible  Church  (i  John  2:19). 

3)  Believers  have  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the  Son 
(i  John  1:3),  and  with  one  another  (i  John  3:7). 

4)  Believers  are  brethren  in  virtue  of  being  partakers  in  the 
new  birth  from  God  (i  John  4:20,  21  compared  with  5:1,  2). 

5)  Love  to  God  (i  John  3:16-18;  2  John  9)  and  a  right  con- 
fession of  faith  (i  John  2:23;  4:2;  2  John  7:9-11)  causes  this  fellow- 
ship to  be  both  inward  and  outward. 

6)  It  would  be  interesting  to  develop  St.  John's  doctrine  of 
the  Church  as  given  in  the  Apocalypse,  but  this  would  lead  us 
beyond  our  present  purpose. 

II.     The  Church  Doctrine. 

1.  The  Ancient  Catholic  Church. 

57.  From  the  beginning  two  aspects  of  the  Church  have 
always  been  recognized,  i)  its  inner  and  spiritual  essence,  and 
2)  its  outward  organism  as  actually  developed. 

58.  The  early  Church  laid  stress  upon  the  historical  actuality 
of  the  Church,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  was  developed  on 
this  basis. 

59.  This  development,  in  the  Ante-Nicene  Period,  can  be 
conveniently  discussed  in  connection  with  three  great  names, 
each  separated  from  the  other  by  an  interval  of  more  than  half  a 
century,  and  each  marking  a  distinct  stage  in  its  progress, — Igna- 
tius of  Antioch  (martyr  107  A.  D.,  or  115  A.  D.),  Irenseus  of 
Lyons  (martyr  202  A.  D.j,  and  Cyprian  of  Carthage  (martyr 
258  A.  D.). 

60.  I,  Ignatius  lays  emphasis  upon  the  bishop  or  head- 
pastor  of  the  congregation  as  constituting  the  visible  centre  of 
unity  in  the  congregation.  The  episcopacy  of  Ignatius  is,  how- 
ever, strictly  congregational, — local,  not  diocesan,  and  purely 
governmental,  valued  mainly  as  a  means  of  securing  good  disci- 
pline and  promoting  harmonious  working  in  the  Church.  Submis- 
sion to  the  bishop  was  considered  as  a  doctrine  of  the  Church, 
and  the  bishop  was  regarded    as  the  vicar  of  Christ. 

2.  In  his  letter  to  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  Ignatius 
writes:  "Maintain  thine  office  with  all  care,  in  things  temporal  as 
well  as  spiritual"  {caf.  i);  "let  nothing  be  done  without  thy  con- 
sent, neither  do  thou  anything  without  the  approval  of  God"  {caf.a,). 
In  the  same  letter  addressing  the  people,  he  adds;  "Give  heed 
to  your  bishop,  that  God  also  may  give  heed  to  you"  (cap.  6). 

3.  In  his  letter  to  the  Ephesians,  Ignatius  says:  "It  is 
evident  that  we  should  look  upon  the  bishop  as  we  would  upon  the 
Lord  Himself"  (cap.  6).  To  the  Smyrnaeans  he  writes:  "See 
that  ye  all  follow  the  bishop,  even  as  Jesus  Christ  does  the 
Father". . . .  "Let  no  man  do  anything  connected  with  the  Church 
without   the   bishop" ....  "Wherever   the   bishop   is   found,  there 


20  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

let  the  people  be;  even  as,  wherever  Christ  is,  there  is  the  catholic 
Church"  (cap.  8).  (With  Zahn  and  Lightfoot  we  accept  the 
genuineness  of  the  shorter  Greek  recension  of  the  Ignatian 
Epistles.) 

6i.  I.  With  Irenaeus,  bishop  of  Lyons,  two  generations 
later,  the  aspect  of  the  episcopal  office  has  changed.  Heresies 
everywhere  abound,  and  the  believer  asks  for  some  decisive 
test.  Irenaeus  points  to  the  Church  as  the  sole  depositary  of 
apostolical  doctrine,  and  the  episcopate  is  by  him  regarded  not  so 
much  as  the  cejitre  of  ecclesiastical  unity  (as  by  Ignatius),  but 
rather  as  the  depositary  of  Apostolic  tradition. 

2.  Irenseus  Against  Heresies:  "The  tradition  derived 
from  the  apostles,". .  . .  "the  faith  preached  to  men,"  "comes  down 
to  our  times  by  means  of  the  succession  of  the  bishops,".... 
"inasmuch  as  the  apostolical  tradition  has  been  preserved  continu- 
ously."    (III.     cap.  3). 

3.  To  confirm  this  teaching  that  there  was  one  unchanging 
rule  of  faith,  preserved  by  infallible  tradition,  through  an  unbroken 
succession  of  bishops  from  the  time  of  the  apostles,  attempts  were 
now  made  (especially  by  Hegesippus  and  Irenaeus  in  the  second 
century,  and  by  Eusebius  and  others  in  the  fourth  and  following 
centuries)  to  construct  lists  of  bishops  especially  in  Rome, — in 
order  to  establish  this  continuity.  With  this  view  of  Irenaeus 
both  Hegisippus  {d.  about  180)  and  Turtullian  {d.  220)  are  in 
substantial  agreement. 

4.  The  tendency  of  the  doctrine  concerning  the  Church  at 
the  close  of  the  second  century  may  be  summed  up  in  the  words 
of  Hatch:  "The  supremacy  of  the  bishop  and  unity  of  doctrine 
were  conceived  as  going  hand  in  hand:  the  bishop  was  conceived 
as  having  what  Irenaeus  calls  the  charisma  veritatis;  the  bishop's 
seat  was  conceived  as  being,  what  St.  Augustine  later  calls  it,  the 
cathedra  taiitatis  and  round  the  episcopal  office  revolved  the 
whole  vast  system,  not  only  of  Christian  administration  and 
Christian  organization,  but  also  of  Christian  doctrine"  {Orgayi.  of 
Early  Ch7'istia7i  Churches,  pp.  98,  gg). 

5.  No  exact  definitions  concerning  the  nature  of  the  Church 
are  found  previous  to  the  time  of  Cyprian.  V/hat  the  Early 
Fathers  say  concerning  the  nature  of  the  Church  is  frequently  so 
indefinite,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  fully  to  ascertain  their  real 
sentiments.  But  the  inner  and  spiritual  essence  of  the  Church  at 
this  period  was  not  altogether  lost  sight  of.  In  their  earlier  writ- 
ings both  Irenaeus  and  Tertullian  emphasize  the  fact  that  the 
Church  is  heir  of  the  truth  and  doctrine  of  the  Apostles  only  in  so 
far  as  she  retains  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

62.  I.  Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  almost  lost  sight  of  the 
inner  or  spiritual  essence  of  the  Church,  and  unduly  emphasized  the 
historical  and  visible  existence  of  the  Church.  With  him  the  unity 
of  the  Church  is  absolutely  identified  with  that  of  the  Episcopate. 
The  bishop  is  the  absolute  vicegerent  of  Christ  in  things  spiritual. 
Cyprian  substitutes  a  sacerdotal  hierarchy  of  bishops  for  the 
apostolic  doctrine  of  the  universal  priesthood  of  all  believers. 
He  is  the  typical  high-churchman  of  the  Ante-Nicene  age. 

2.     According  to  him  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  secured  i)  by 


DOCTRINE   OF   THE   CHURCH    IN   ANTE-NICENE   TIMES,      21 

a  direct  and  unbroken  succession  of  bishops  from  the  time  of  the 
apostles,  and  2)  by  the  communication  of  special  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  all  bishops  at  the  time  of  ordination. 

3.  The  bishops  are  the  pillars  and  guardians  of  the  unity  of 
the  Church.  "There  is  one  God,  and  Christ  is  one,  and  there  is 
one  Church,  and  one  chair  founded  upon  the  rock  by  the  word  of 
the  Lord"  (^'Z-  39,  cap.  5)  ..."This  unity  we  ought  firmly  to 
hold  and  assert,  especially  those  of  us  that  are  bishops  who 
preside  in  the  Church,  that  we  may  also  prove  the  episcopate 
itself  to  be  one  and  undivided.  ..  .The  episcopate  is  one,  each 
part  of  which  is  held  by  each  one  for  the  whole"  {De  unit,  cedes. 
cap.  5). 

4.  In  a  certain  sense  the  bishops  are  the  Church  itself.  No 
bishop,  no  church.  "You  ought  to  know  that  the  bishop  is  in 
the  Church,  and  the  Church  in  the  bishop;  and  if  anyone  be  not 
with  the  bishop,  that  he  is  not  in  the  Church."  {Ef.  68  (66)  8). 
This  is  the  famous  formula  of  Cyprian's  theory. 

5.  Holding  that  the  Church  was  founded  on  St.  Peter  alone 
(as  the  Rock),  he  transferred  the  same  superiority  to  the  bishop  of 
Rome  as  the  successor  of  Peter,  and  thus  traces  to  the  chair  of 
St.  Peter,  the  source  of  the  unity  of  the  Church.  "The  chair  of 
St.  Peter  is  the  principal  Church  whence  sacerdotal  unity  is 
derived"  {Ep.  54,  cap.  14). 

6.  The  bishop  receives  authority  to  teach  and  to  exercise  the 
power  of  the  keys,  as  successors  of  the  Apostles,  by  virtue  of  a 
vicarious  ordination, — and  not  because  called  to  the  office  by  the 
whole  Church.  The  bishop  is  appointed  directly  by  God,  is  respon- 
sible directly  to  God,  is  inspired  directly  from  God.  See  especially 
Ep.  68  (66). 

63.  In  order  to  understand  more  clearly  the  development  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Church  during  the  Ante-Nicene  period,  we  may 
sum  up,  in  this  connection,  some  facts,  which  however  will  be 
more  fully  discussed  where  they  properly  belong. 

1.  The  Greek  word  ecclcsia  literally  means  the  body  of  those 
who  are  called  out  of  the  world  to  form  an  ecclesia,  a  church,  an 
assembly,  considered  as  a  unity. 

2.  There  is  this  difference  between  the  words  ecclesia  and 
congregation  that  the  first  regards  believers  as  separated  from 
the  world,  and  the  second  regards  them  as  assembled  in  one  place, 
but  the  harmony  of  the  two  words  lies  in  this,  that  men  are  called 
out  of  the  world  {ecclesia)  that  they  may  be  assembled  and  united 
as  saints  in  a  congregatio7i.  The  word  ecclesia  marks  their  rela- 
tion to  the  world,  the  word  congregation  their  relation  to  each 
other. 

3.  In  Apostolic  times,  and  for  generations  after,  there 
was  but  one  congregation  in  one  city,  however  large  that  city 
might  be.  One  congregational  organization  was  retained  even 
where  the  members  were  so  numerous  and  so  widely  scattered  as 
to  require  different  places  of  worship  and  different  pastors. 

4.  An  essential  part  of  the  organization  of  the  congregations 
was  connected  with  the  institution  of  the  congregational  pastorate, 
the  office  which  was  to  superintend  and  spiritually  rule  the  congre- 
gations, to  conduct  the   public  services,  to  administer  the  sacra- 


22  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

ments,   to  labor   in   the   word  and  in  doctrine,  and  to  watch  for 
souls,  for  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  building  up  of  saints. 

5.  Various  names  and  designations  are  given  to  pastors  in 
the  N.  T.  St.  Paul  gives  us  two  lists,  the  first  in  i  Cor.  12:28-30, 
and  the  second  in  Eph.  4:11,  12. 

6.  The  N.  T.  title  of  the  pastoral  oflBce,  which  covers  teach- 
ing and  preaching  as  well  as  oversight,  is  that  of  Presbyter  or 
Elder,  and  Bishop.  These  two  names  are  entirely  co-ordinate. 
To  these  are  committed  the  headships  of  congregations.  A  N.  T. 
bishop  is  an  elder  or  presbyter,  and  a  N.  T.  presbyter  or  elder  is  a 
bishop. 

7.  The  idea  of  a  riding  eldership  as  of  divine  authority  dis- 
tinct from  a  pastorate,  or  the  idea  of  a  N.  T.  episcopate,  is  a  pure 
misapprehension,  without  any  warrant  from  Scripture  and  iu  abso- 
lute defiance  of  the  history  of  the  Church. 

8.  Jus  divinum  Presbyterianism  involves  the  divine  institu- 
tion of  lay  elderships,  and  is  even  a  more  hopeless  figment  than/ws 
diviman  diocesan  Episcopacy.  Neither  view  has  any  foundation 
in  Scripture,  nor  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 

9.  The  supremest  permanent  office  in  the  Christian  congre- 
gation is  that  of  the  bishop-elder  or  pastor,  one  in  kind,  one  in 
authority.  The  only  other  office  of  a  permanent  nature,  of  Apos- 
tolic appointment,  in  the  congregation,  is  the  diaconate. 

10.  The  pastorate  (bishop-elder)  and  the  diaconate  were 
/offices,  not  orders.  The  N.  T.  everyv/here  emphasizes  the  uni- 
versal priesthood  of  all  believers,     (i  Pet.  2:5,  g.) 

11.  At  the  close  of  the  Apostolic  age,  the  office  of  the  pres- 
byter-bishop, and  the  deacon  was  fully  established,  but  as  yet 
there  was  no  trace  of  the  diocesan  Episcopate. 

12.  The  words  bishop  and  presbyter  are  synonymous  in  the 
Apostolic  Age  (Phil.  1:1;  Acts  20:17,  28;  i  Pet.  5:1,  2;  i  Tim.  3:1, 
8;  Tit.  1:5,  7).     Several  bishops  belonged  to  a  single  congregation. 

13.  The  time  the  first  distinction  arose  between  the  terms 
elder  and  bishop  was  about  100  A.  D.  in  the  writings  of  Ignatius. 
He  however  does  not  know  of  the  diocesan  episcopate,  but  the 
bishop  of  whom  he  speaks  is  the  pastor  of  a  single  congregation. 
"There  is  to  every  church  one  altar,  and  one  bishop,  with  the 
presbytery  and  the  deacons."  All  his  references  everywhere  to  a 
bishop  are  to  the  congregational  episcopacy. 

14.  The  congregational  Episcopate  developed  out  of  the 
presbyterate.  The  title  (bishop),  common  to  all,  came  at  length 
to  be  appropriated  to  the  chief  among  them.  Episcopacy  v/as  not 
a  sudden  creation.  It  arose  from  the  demands  of  the  times,  and 
the  needs  of  the  churches, — the  president  of  a  body  of  presbyters 
being  the  direct  occasion  of  the  congregational  episcopate. 

15.  History  thus  shows  that  by  the  middle  of  the  second 
century  each  organized  congregation  had  i)  its  bishop;  2)  its 
presbyters;  and  3)  its  deacons.  Th^  transition  was  gradual,  a) 
At  first  every  congregation  was  distinct  in  its  government, — 
congregations  were  not  grouped  by  districts  large  or  small,  as 
later,  b)  Each  congregation  was  governed  by  a  body  of  elders 
or  bishops  perfectly  co-ordinate,  with  not  even  a  presiding  head. 
This  presbytery  was  a  congregational  one.  c. )  The  first  step  in  the 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  THE   CHURCH.  23 

change  was  to  give  one  of  the  bishop-presbyters  a  place  as  presid- 
ing bishop  or  presiding  elder  in  the  congregational  presbytery. 
d. )  There  was  thus  a  gradual  development  of  the  office  from  the 
presbytery.  e.)  From  this  point  the  Church  in  her  liberty 
developed  the  diocesan  Episcopacy.  Three  names  are  connected 
with  this  develepment,  Ignatius,  Irenaeus,  and  Cyprian. 
i6.     The  Succession  of  Bishops  at  Rome. 

1.  The  attempt  to  decipher  the  early  history  of  Episcopacy 
at  Rome  is  hopeless.  S chaff :  "The  obscure  chronology  of  the 
early  bishops  of  Rome"  is  "veiled  in  impenetrable  darkness." 

2.  We  have  lists  of  Roman  bishops  (the  catalogues  of  popes), 
but  they  are  not  to  be  relied  on. 

3.  What  we  positively  know  is  that  at  the  end  of  the  first 
century  the  Roman  Church  was  ruled  by  the  mild  presbyter- 
bishop  Clemens,  and  at  the  close  of  the  second  century  by  the 
haughty  Victor,  the  prototype  of  an  Innocent  or  a  Hildebrand. 

64.  Though  it  was  a  fundamental  error  to  regard  the  Church 
as  essentially  an  external  organization  (as  Cyprian  did),  and 
though  the  distinction  between  the  external  marks  of  an  outward 
institution  and  the  internal  marks  which  constitute  the  very  essence 
of  the  Church,  were  lost  sight  of,  nevertheless  the  inner  and 
spiritual  essence  of  the  Church  was  still  held  by  many.  The 
Church  was  regarded  after  all  as  essentially  invisible,  and  thus 
was  not  an  object  of  sight,  but  became  an  article  of  faith. 

65.  This  distinction  between  the  Visible  and  Invisible 
Church,  and  the  fact  that  the  Church  is  essentially  invisible  is 
involved  and  implied  in  both  the  Apostles'  Creed  and  the  Nicene 
Creed.  They  do  not  say  /  see,  but  /  believe  in  "the  holy  Chris- 
tian Church" — sanctam  ecclesiam  Catholicam  (Apostles'  Creed),  1 
believe  "in  one,  holy,  Christian,  and  Apostolic  Church" — eis  mian 
hagian  katholikeji  kai apostoliken  ekklesian.   (Nicene  Creed.) 

66.  In  the  Apostles'  Creed  the  Church  is  regarded  as  a 
"holy  Catholic  Church,"  or  universal  Church,  the  Christian 
Church  in  its  totality,  the  communion  of  saints,  and  this  is  linked 
with  the  words,  "I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  This  collocation 
implies  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Father  of  this  Church,  and  the 
expression  "the  communion  of  saints"  reveals  its  internal  char- 
acter. 

67.  In  the  Niceno-Constantinopolitan  Creed  (381  A.  D),  the 
Church  confesses  that  there  is  "one.  Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic 
Church,"  and  the  collocation  also  indicates  that  the  Church  is  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  leads  us  to  the  attributes  of  the 
Church. 

68.  The  Attributes  of  the  Church  as  emphasized  by  the 
Chuxch  Fathers. 

I.     The  Unity  of  the  Church. 

I.  The  Church  is  "one."  According  to  Scripture  'CoSsnnity 
consists  in  the  fact  that  i)  all  members  of  the  Church  are  baptized 
by  one  baptism  into  one  body  and  one  Spirit  (Eph.  4:4,  5);  2)  all 
members  are  made  partakers  of  one  faith  and  one  hope  of  their 
calling  (Eph.  4:4,  5);  3)  all  have  one  Lord  to  whom  they  are  united 


24  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

by  one  Spirit  (Eph.  4:4,  5);  4)  and  all  thus  become  one  in  their 
one  God  and  Father  (Eph.  4:6). 

2.  Five  figures  are  used  in  Scripture  to  set  forth  the  unity  of 
the  Church:  i)  the  body  (i  Cor.  12:12-27);  2)  the  vine  (John 
iS^i-q)'  3)  ^ flock  (John  10:16);  4)  2i  kingdom  (Matt.  12:25);  5)  ^ 
tem;ple  (Eph.  2:20-22). 

3.  This  true  idea  of  the  unity  of  the  Church  was  early  per- 
verted, and  transferred  to  an  external  organized  unity  of  the 
Church  under  the  episcopate,  though  that  episcopate  was  not  yet 
diocesan. 

4.  It  was  Cyprian,  especially,  as  we  have  seen  above,  who 
unduly  emphasized  the  historical  and  visible  existence  of  the 
Church. 

5.  Cyprian's  doctrine  of  the  Church  identified  the  invisible 
Church  with  the  visible,  the  spiritual  unity  of  the  Church  with 
the  external  unity  of  07'ga7iization,  and  in  this  lay  its  fallacy. 
With  him  the  unity  of  the  Church  under  the  present  order  of 
things  was  no  longer  a  matter  of  faith,  but  one  of  sight. 

6.  Cyprian  most  fully  develops  his  doctrine  of  the  ujiity, 
universality  and  exdusiveness  of  the  Church  in  his  famous 
treatise  De  Unitate  Ecclesice,  written  in  the  year  251.  "He  is  not 
a  Christian  who  is  not  in  the  Church  of  Christ."  "No  one  can 
have  God  for  his  father  who  has  not  the  Church  for  his  mother," 
"Extra  ecclesiam  nulla  salus. " 

7.  With  reference  to  the  proposition"  Outside  of  the  Church 
there  is  no  salvation,"  Marheineke  truly  says:  "It  is  incorrect  to 
say  that  this  proposition  was  for  the  first  time  laid  down  by  Augus- 
tine, in  the  fourth  century,  in  the  Donatist  Controversy.  It  was 
only  the  necessary  consequence  and  application  of  earlier  princi- 
ples, and  was  distinctly  implied  in  the  form  which  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church  had  assumed  since  the  time  of  Irenaeus." 

8.  In  opposition  to  heretics  and  to  all  who  are  not  Christians, 
the  Early  Fathers  uniformly  asserted  that  "there  is  no  salvation 
out  of  the  Church."  In  the  Apostolic  Fathers  Clemens  Romanus, 
Ignatius  and  Hermes,  this  doctrine  is  identified  with  the  doctrine 
of  salvation  in  Christ  alone,  of  which  salvation  the  Church  alone 
was  the  abode.  It  was  believed  and  taught  that  within  the  visible, 
historical  Church  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  salvation  of 
men  took  place.  This  is  emphasized  in  that  famous  expression  of 
Irenaeus:  "Where  the  Church  is,  there  is  the  Spirit  of  God;  and 
where  the  Spirit  of  God  is,  there  is  the  Church  and  all  grace." 
Roman  Catholicism,  to  this  day,  lays  stress  upon  the  first  part  of 
this  proposition,  and  Protestantism  on  the  second  part. 

g.  Schaff:  The  Scriptural  principle:  "Out  of  Christ  there 
is  no  salvation, "  was  contracted  and  restricted  to  the  Cyprianic 
principle:  "Out  of  the  (visible)  Church  there  is  no  salvation";  and 
from  this  there  was  only  one  step  to  the  fundamental  error  of 
Romanism:   "Out  of  the  Roman  Church  there  is  no  salvation." 

10.  Cyprian's  doctrine  was  subsequently  developed,  but 
broadened  and  deepened  by  Augustine  in  his  conflict  with  Donat- 
ism.  He  held  to  a  unity  grounded  and  established  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  but  presenting  itself  to  view  in  an  external  organism. 
With  this  view  of  Augustine  was  united  the  idea  of  a  Church  out 


ATTRIBUTES  OF  THE   CHURCH.  25 

of  which  there  is  no  salvation.  "They  have  not  the  love  of  God 
(toward  them),  who  love  not  the  unity  of  the  Church,  and  for  this 
reason  it  is  seen  that  it  is  rightly  said,  the  Holy  Ghost  cannot  be 
received  except  in  the  Catholic  Church."  (De  bapt.  contra 
Donat.  3,  i6.) 

II.  This  outward  conception  of  the  unity  of  the  Church  soon 
found  a  contradiction  in  the  separation  between  the  Oriental  and 
Occidental  Churches  {692  A.  D.). 

69.  II.  The  Holiness  of  the  Church.  "I  believe  in  one, 
holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church." 

1.  The  Church  is  holy,  not  because  every  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  visible  Church  is  holy  (for  the  visible  Church  is  of  a 
mixed  character,  e.  g.,  the  Parable  of  the  Tares,  Matt.  \'2.:i\-y:i; 
the  grain  with  the  chaff,  Matt.  3:12;  the  Parable  of  the  Drag-net, 
Matt.  13:47-50;  the  sheep  with  the  goats.  Matt.  25:32,  33;  the 
Parable  of  the  Marriage  Feast  with  guests  bad  and  good.  Matt. 
22:10;  the  Vine  with  fruitful  and  unfruitful  branches,  John  15:2; 
the  great  house,  with  vessels,  some  unto  honor,  and  some  unto 
dishonor,  2  Tim.  2:20); — 

2.  But  i)  because  the  Church's  Head,  even  Jesus  Christ  (Eph. 
5:23),  who  rules  (Heb.  3:6),  nourishes  and  cherishes  the  Church 
(Eph.  5:29)  is  holy  (Mark  1:24;  Acts  3:14),  and  we  are  members 
of  His  mystical  body  (Eph.  5:30);  and  2)  because  the  object  of  her 
foundation  and  her  final  aim  is  holiness  (Eph.  5:27;  Tit.  2:14). 

3.  All  the  Fathers  emphasized  the  holiness  of  the  Church. 
Origen  ascribes  it  to  "the  Church  in  the  proper  sense".  Augus- 
tine maintained  that  the  Church  consists  of  the  sum  total  of  all 
v^'ho  are  baptized,  and  that  the  (ideal)  holiness  of  the  Church  was 
not  impaired  by  the  impure  elements  externally  connected  with  it. 
He  draws  a  distinction  betv>reen  "the  true  and  the  mixed  body  of 
the  Lord"  (De  doct.  Christ.  3,  32). 

70.  III.  The  Catholicity  of  the  Church.  "I  believe  in  one, 
holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church." 

1.  The  word  Catholic  is  transferred  and  not  translated  from 
the  Greek.  It  is  found  in  Greek  writers  some  centuries  at  least 
before  the  Christian  era.  It  means  diffused  throughout  the 
zuhole,  i.  e.,  universal.  As  used  by  the  earliest  Christian  writers 
it  denotes  the  "general"  or  "universal"  Church  in  opposition  to  a 
particular  body  of  Christians.  In  Luther's  time  the  word  Catholic 
had  not  been  introduced  into  the  German  language.  In  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed  it  is  translated  Christliche,  in  the  Nicene  Creed,  all- 
gemeine.  The  best  popular  translation  of  Catholic  (through  the 
whole)  is  Christian,  for  the  word  universal  falls  short  of  its  true 
meaning. 

2.  The  phrase  Catholic  Church  is  first  found  in  the  writings 
of  Ignatius.  "Where  Christ  is,  there  is  the  Catholic  Church" 
(Ign.  ad  Smyrn.  8),  an  affirmation  closely  corresponding  with  the 
Lutheran  rendering  "Christian  Church". 

3.  The  word  Catholic  or  universal,  in  its  etymological  sense  >y 
throughout  the  -whole  involves  universal  extension  in  respect  i)  to 
place,  2)  to  time,  and  3)  to  teaching. 

4.  The  Church  Catholic  in  resfect  to  Place  or  Extension!. 
Our  Lord  bade  His  Apostles  "Go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 


26  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

the  Gospel  to  the  whole  creation"  (Mark  16:15).  Athanasius:  "It 
is  Catholic  because  being  poured  forth  it  flows  throughout  the 
whole  world"  (De  parab.  Script.  Qu.  37).  Augustine:  "It  is  called 
Catholic  in  Greek,  because  it  is  diffused  throughout  the  whole 
world"  (Epist.  53).  So  Cyril:  "It  is  called  catholic  because  it  is 
throughout  the  world,  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other"  (Catech. 
18,  23). 

5.  TJie  Church  Catholic  in  res;pect  to  Ti?7ie.  The  Church 
is  universal  in  respect  to  time,  having  endured  throughout  all 
ages,  and  is  destined  to  endure  until  the  end  of  time.  This  is 
fully  stated  by  Augustine  in  various  passages:  The  Church 
includes  '  'the  whole  people  of  the  saints  from  Abel  to  those  who 
shall  be  born  to  the  end  of  the  world,  and  who  shall  believe  on 
Christ"  (In.Ps.  92);  "all  in  heaven  and  all  on  earth"  (Enchir.  56). 
All  sface  and  all  time  and  eternity  are  covered  by  the  conception 
of  the  word  Catholic. 

6.  The  Church  Catholic  in  resfiect  to  Teaching.  The 
Church  is  Catholic,  not  only  in  the  sense  that  she  is  to  embrace 
all  mankind  and  all  time,  but  she  is  commissioned  to  teach 
universally  the  entire  body  of  doctrines  which  men  ought  to 
believe  (Matt.  28:19,  20).  Cyril:  "It  is  called  Catholic... 
because  it  teaches  universally  and  completely  one  and  all  the  doc- 
trines which  ought  to  come  to  men's  knowledge  concerning  things 
both  visible  and  invisible,  heavenly  and  earthly;. . .  .and  because 
it  universally  treats  and  heals  the  whole  class  of  sins,  which  are 
committed  by  soul  or  body"  (Catech.  18,  23). 

7.  In  virtue  of  its  catholicity  (universality)  in  place,  time, 
and  teaching,  the  Church  has  a  unity  which  excludes  the  continued 
existence  of  Judaism,  or  of  any  particular  Church,  denomination, 
or  sect,  which  has  risen  in  time  and  has  fallen  or  may  fall  in  time, 
— and  over  against  all  particular  churches,  which  are  pure 
Churches,  the  Christian  (Catholic  or  Universal)  Church  is  a  unity 
of  the  whole  over  against  the  parts. 

8.  Pure  particular  churches  are  but  parts  of  the  Church 
Catholic,  and  all  particular  pure  churches  together  do  not  make 
up  the  Church  Catholic,  for  its  unity  covers  all  time,  all  space,  all 
number,  what  is  past,  what  is,  and  what  is  to  come — all  earth  and 
all  heaven. 

71.  IV.  The  Apostolicity  of  the  Church.  "I  believe  in 
one,  holy,  Catholic,  and  Afostolic  Church." 

1.  Though  the  exact  word  does  not  occur  in  the  N.  T.,  it  is 
implied  in  Eph.  2:20  that  the  Church  is  Apostolic,  for  it  is  built 
upon  the  foundation  laid  by  the  Apostles  and  prophets. 

2.  The  Church  is  apostolic  also  i)  because  of  her  doctrinal 
and  historical  connection  with  the  Apostles,  2)  because  she  con- 
tinually sets  forth  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles,  and  remains  stead- 
fast therein,  and  3)  has  entrusted  to  her  the  apostolic  mission  of 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  whole  world. 

3.  This  Apostolic  character  was  constantly  emphasized  by 
the  Fathers  against  the  heretics,  to  confront  and  confute  their 
innovations, — especially  in  the  teaching  of  the  Western  Church. 

4.  We  have  already  seen  (61)  what  stress  Irenaeus  lays  upon 
"the  apostolical  tradition  continuously  preserved." 


ATTRIBUTES   OF   THE   CHURCH.  ^ 

5.  Tertullian  (De  Praescr.  20):  "The  Apostles  founded 
churches  in  every  city,  from  which  all  the  other  churches,  one  after 
another,  derived  the  tradition  of  the  faith  and  the  seeds  of  doc- 
trine, and  are  every  day  deriving  them,  that  they  may  become 
Churches.  Indeed,  it  is  on  this  account  only  that  they  will  be 
able    to   deem    themselves    apostolic,    as   being   the   offspring   of 

apostolic   Churches Therefore  the  churches,  although  they  are 

so  many  and  so  great,  comprise  but  the  one  primitive  Church 
(founded)  by  the  Apostles,  from  which  they  all  (spring).  In  this 
way  all  are  primitive,  and  all  are  Apostolic. 

6.  Augustine  especially  develops  this  thought  in  his  tract 
"On  the  Profit  of  Believing"  (De  Utilitate  Credcndi). 

7.  Over  against  the  changes  of  opinions  resting  on  insecure 
ground,  the  Fathers  lay  stress  on  the  authority  of  the  Church, 
which  is  claimed  to  be  perpetuated  from  the  Apostles,  through 
the  succession  of  Bishops  or  congregational  pastors  (see  61,  62 
above. ) 

8.  Out  of  this  train  of  thinking  arose  finally  the  claim  of  the 
Roman  Primate  as  successor  to  the  Apostolate  of  St.  Peter. 

9.  But  such  a  conception  of  the  Apostolicity  of  the  Church  has 
no  warrant  in  Scripture,  and  is  overthrown  by  the  facts  of  Church 
History. 

10.  The  Church  can  acknowledge  no  second  hand  apostolicity. 
At  this  hour  the  Church  of  Rome  claims  the  control  of  the  world 
on  the  basis  of  Apostolic  tradition, — and  the  Greek  Church, 
supported  by  Apostolic  tradition  (and  yet  more  to  the  purpose, 
by  Apostolic  writings),  repudiates  the  claim  of  Rome  with  more 
than  Protestant  vehemence. 

11.  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  Apostolic  because,  and 
only  as  far  as,  it  abides  in  the  faith  taught  and  in  the  sacraments 
administered  and  perpetuated  by  the  Apostles,  of  which  the  only 
rule  is  the  Woj'd  of  which  the  Apostles  are  the  pre-eminently 
inspired  authors,  and  which  they  carried  as  the  first  great  mission- 
aries of  the  cross  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

72.  Mo7itanism,  Novatianisjn,  and  Donatisjn  arose  in  the 
effort  by  strict  discipline  to  make  the  visible  Church  a  holy 
Church.  It  was  an  attempt  to  whip  the  visible  into  the  invisible 
Church. 

I.  Montanism,  a  movement  which  arose  in  Asia  Minor 
(Phrygia)  about  156-172  A.  D.,  was  a  fanatical  extreme  of  a 
laudable  movement  to  lay  m.ore  emphasis  upon  the  discipline  of 
the  Church  and  upon  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  than  the  Church, 
amid  the  difficulties  and  temptations  of  the  times,  was  doing.  It 
had  as  its  special  task  a  reformation  of  Christian  life,  and  Church 
discipline  was  regarded  as  highly  necessary  in  view  of  the 
approaching  Parousia  and  the  setting  up  of  the  heavenly  Jerusa- 
lem. Under  the  pretence  of  instituting  a  new  and  higher  stage  of 
revelation  (by  its  doctrine  of  the  Paraclete  and  their  position  that 
they  were  the  privileged  people  of  the  Holy  Ghost)  they  really 
undertook  to  correct  the  moral  and  religious  doctrines  of  Christ 
and  the  Apostles  as  being  defective  and  incomplete.  They  v/ere 
most  influential  in  North  Africa,  having  greatly  influenced  Tertul- 
lian   {d.  220),  and   Augustine  (d.  430)  speaks  of   the  "Tertullian- 


28  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

ists"  in  his  own  time.  They  are  regarded  by  the  RitschHan 
school  of  historical  critics  as  the  representatives  of  primitive, 
enthusiastic  Christianity  which  had  become  "secularized"  in  the 
Catholic  Church. 

2.  Although  Montanism  had  been  condemned,  Novatian 
(Rome),  after  251  A.  D.,  became  the  leader  of  a  party  oi  jurists, 
who  taught  that  the  Church  has  no  right  to  give  assurance  of 
forgivenes  to  the  fallen  or  such  as  have  broken  their  baptismal 
vows  by  grievous  sins  (although  they  did  not  deny  that  God 
might  forgive  the  sinner),  and  that  the  Church,  being  a  com- 
munion of  thoroughly  pure  members,  should  never  endure  any 
impure  ones  in  its  bosom,  nor  receive  back  any  excommunicated 
ones,  even  after  a  full  ecclesiastical  course  of  penitence.  Many 
of  the  old  Montanists  joined  this  movement,  and  the  Novatians 
were  still  in  existence  in  the  sixth  century. 

3.  The  Donatists  spread  over  all  North  Africa  (311-415 
A.  D.),  so  named  after  Donatus  the  Great,  elected  Bishop  of 
Carthage  313  A.  D.  They  started  from  the  principle  that  no  one 
who  has  been  excommunicated  or  deserves  to  be  is  fit  for  the 
performance  of  any  sacramental  action.  With  the  Novatians  they 
demanded  the  absolute  purity  of  the  Church,  but  admitted  that  by 
repentance  Church  fellowship  could  be  regained.  Augustine, 
about  400  A.  D.,  began  his  unwearied  attacks  upon  this  sect. 

4.  In  conflict  with  the  Donatists  Augustine  was  obliged  to 
make  distinctions  which  logically  overthrew  some  of  his  earlier 
views  of  the  organic  exhibition  of  the  unity  of  the  Church.  He 
drew  a  distinction  between  the  members  of  the  Church  properly 
such,  and  not  properly  such.  "There  are  some  in  the  house  of 
God  after  such  a  fashion  as  not  to  be  themselves  the  very  house 
of  God". . , .  "Others  are  said  to  be  in  the  house  after  such  a  sort, 
that  they  belong  not  to  the  substance  of  the  house"  (De  Bapt. 
Contra  Donat.  7,  51).  He  also  distinguishes  between  the  true 
Church  and  the  mixed:  "We  ought  to  speak  of  the  true  and  the 
mixed  body  of  the  Lord,  or  the  true  and  the  false,  or  some  such 
name;  because,  not  to  speak  of  eternity,  hypocrites  cannot  even 
now  be  said  to  be  in  Him,  although  they  seem  to  be  in  His 
Church.". . . .  "The  Church  declares  itself  to  be  at  present  both; 
and  this  because  the  good  fish  and  the  bad  are  for  the  time  mixed 
up  in  one  net"  (De  Doct.  Chr.  3,  32). 

5.  In  fact  Augustine  here  draws  that  very  distinction 
between  the  esscjice  of  the  Church  and  what  experience  shows  the 
visible  Church  actually  to  be,  which  was  long  after  so  forcibly 
emphasized  in  the  Augsburg  Confession  and  in  the  writings  of  the 
Reformers. 

6.  But  in  spite  of  these  juster  views  of  Augustine  and  others 
of  the  same  period,  the  tendency  constantly  increased  to  lay  exces- 
sive stress  upon  the  external  organism  of  the  Church,  and  to 
make  Salvation  dependent  on  loyalty,  not  to  Christ,  but  to  the 
Visible  Church. 

II.      The  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
73.     This  externalizing  tendency  came  to  its  complete  develop- 
ment in  the  Church  of  Rome.     This  Church  identifies  itself  with 


PRIMACY   OF   THE   POPE.  29 

the  invisible  Church,  and  regards  its  own  hierarchical  organism, 
with  the  Pope  at  its  head  as  the  bearer  and  organ  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  who  still  supernaturally  by  His  Inspiration  acts  upon  the 
leaders  of  the  Church,  and  that  membership  with  it  is  the  neces- 
sary condition  of  the  salvation  of  every  individual.  Hence  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  declares  itself  to  be  the  alone  saving  and 
infallible  Church. 

74.  A  few  citations  will  be  sufficient  to  demonstrate  what 
the  Roman  Church  teaches  on  these  points: 

1.  The  first  great  factor  in  this  development  was  Gregory  VII 
(Hildebrand),  unquestionably  the  greatest  of  all  the  Popes 
(1073-1085).  He  laid  stress  on  the  universal  theocracy  of  the 
Church,  with  the  Pope,  as  vicar  of  Christ,  at  its  head.  He 
further  maintained:  "That  the  Roman  Church  never  erred  and 
never  will  err,  as  the  Scriptures  testify." 

2.  This  theory  of  Hildebrand  was  upheld  by  Boniface  VIII 
(1294-1303  A.  D.)  who  definitely  asserts — "we  declare,  affirm, 
and  define,  that  subjection  to  the  Roman  Pontiff  on  the  part  of 
every  creature  is  everywhere  necessary  for  salvation."  (Extrav. 
Comm.  I,  8,  i.) 

3.  The  Primacy  of  the  Pope  and  his  superior  authority  in 
relation  to  kings  and  princes  was  dogmatically  set  forth  by  Thomas 
Aquinas,  the  great  Roman  Catholic  Dogmatician   {d.  1274). 

4.  Perrone,  the  greatest  Roman  Catholic  Dogmatician  of  this 
century  {d.  1876)  says  (Vol.  i,  ^265):  "Outside  of  the  Catholic 
Church  (Romish)  there  is  no  salvation." 

5.  Catechismus  Romanus  (I,  10,  18):  "As  this  one  Church 
cannot  err  in  faith  and  in  the  discipline  of  morals,  inasmuch  as  it 
is  governed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  all  others  which  arrogate  to  them- 
selves the  name  of  the  Church,  inasmuch  as  they  are  led  by  the 
spirit  of  the  devil,  must  of  necessity  be  involved  in  the  most  per- 
nicious errors  of  doctrine  and  morals."  This  means  that  as 
Rome  is  infallibly  right  everything  outside  of  Rome  is  infallibly 
wrong. 

6.  Bellarmine  (1542-1621),  probably  the  greatest  Apologist  and 
controversialist  of  the  Roman  faith,  in  Antitheses  to  the  Protestant 
doctrine  of  the  Church,  writes  (Deeccl.  mil.  2):  "Our  judgment  is 
that  the  one  true  Church  is  an  assembly  of  men,  bound  together 
by  the  profession  of  the  same  Christian  faith  and  in  the  com- 
munion of  the  same  sacraments,  under  the  government  of  lawful 
pastors  and  especially  of  the  one  vicar  of  Christ  in  the  world. 
From  which  definition  it  may  easily  be  gathered  who  belong  to  the 
Church  and  who  do  not  belong  to  it.  And  this  is  the  difference 
between  our  judgment  and  all  others,  that  all  others  require 
internal  virtues  to  constitute  any  one  a  part  of  the  Church  and 
moreover  represent  the  true  Church  as  invisible;  but  we  believe 
that  all  virtues  are  found  in  the  Church,  yet  we  do  not  think  that 
in  order  that  a  man  may  in  some  sense  be  said  to  be  a  part  of  the 
true  Church,  internal  virtue  is  requisite,  but  only  external  pro- 
fession of  faith  and  communion  of  the  sacraments.  For  the 
Church  is  an  assembly  of  men  just  as  visible  and  palpable  as 
the  Kingdom  of  France  or  the  Republic  of  Venice." 

7.  Pope   Leo   XIII    (1878-         ),    in    his    Encyclical   Letter 


30  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

Satis  cogfiitum  also  maintains  that  the  unity  of  the  Church 
requires  a  supreme  authority,  and  that  a  supreme  authority  neces- 
sitates an  earthly  head.  "Since  Christ  willed  that  His  kingdom 
should  be  visible,  Ke  was  obliged,  when  He  ascended  into  heaven, 
to  designate  a  vicegerent  on  earth."  ....  "Jesus  Christ, 
therefore,  appointed  Peter  to  be  the  head  of  the  Church;  and  He 
also  determined  that  the  authority  instituted  in  perpetuity 
for  the  salvation  of  all  should  be  inherited  by  his  successors, 
in  v.'hcm  the  same  permanent  authority  of  Peter  himself  should 
continue." 

8.  In  a  summary,  according  to  the  Roman  theory,  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  has  four  characteristics,  and  four 
marks  or  notes. 

g.     The  four  characteristics  axe: 

i)  The  Roman  Church  is  a  w^'cT^^sary  institution,  for  outside 
of  it  there  is  no  salvation. 

2)  She  is  indefectible,  that  is  to  say,  she  will  never  fail  nor 
pass  away,  because  she  is  divine. 

3)  She  is  ififallible,  and  cannot  err,  because  the  Holy  Spirit 
preserves  both  the  Teaching  Church  {ecclesia  docens)  and  the 
Believing  Church  {ecclesia  credcns,  the  people  whose  duty  it  is 
to  believe  what  they  are  taught  by  their  pastors)  free  from  error 
in  faith  and  morals. 

4)  She  is  visible,  and  the  Pope  of  Rome  is  the  Vicar  of 
Christ,  appointed  by  Him  as  the  Head  of  the  Church  on  earth. 

10.  The  four  marks,  according  to  the  Roman  theory,  are: 
i)      Unity.     This  unity  is  one  of  faith,  of  discipline,  of  wor^ 

ship,  of  morals,  etc.,  under  one  visible  Head,  the  Pope  of  Rome. 

2)  Holiyiess.  The  Roman  theory  ascribes  holiness  to  the 
Church  as  a  corporation,  "because  she  is  consecrated  and  dedi- 
cated to  God,"  and  asserts  that  she  alone  teaches  holy  doctrine, 
and  "to  possess  true  holiness,  we  must  belong  to  this  Church,"  and 
that  within  her  communion  are  holy  people; 

3.  Catholic.  "Universal  spreading  in  its  jurisdiction 
throughout  all  nations";  "because  all  who  desire  eternal  salvation 
must  cling  to  and  embrace  her,  like  those  who  entered  the  ark,  to 
escape  perishing  in  the  flood"  (Rom.  Cat.);  Catholic,  because  she 
teaches  quod  ubiqiie,  quod  semper,  quod  ab  oynnibus  creditum 
est,  "what  is   everywhere,  always,  and  by  all  believed"; 

4)  Apostolicity.  Apostolic,  because  founded  by  the  Apostles, 
possessing  an  unbroken  succession  of  pastors  from  Apostolic  times, 
rightfully  ordained,  lawfully  sent,  and  teaching  ApDstolic  doctrine. 
"The  Holy  Ghost,  who  presides  over  the  Church,  governs  her  by 
no  other  than  Apostolic  men,  and  this  Spirit,  first  imparted  to  the 
Apostles,  has,  by  the  infinite  goodness  of  God,  always  continued 
in  the  Church"  (Rom.  Cat.). 

11,  Bellarminein  his  enthusiasm  increased  the  number  of  the 
m.arks  ox  notes  of  the  Church  \.o  fifteeyv.  i)  The  name  Catho- 
lic, 2)  antiquity,  3)  abiding  duration,  4)  amplitude,  or  multitude 
and  variety  of  believers,  5)  succession  of  bishops  from  the 
Apostles,  6)  agreement  in  doctrine  with  the  ancient  Church,  7) 
union  of  members  among  themselves  and  with  the  Head,  the 
Pope  of  Rome,  8)  sanctity  of  doctrine,  9)  efficacy  of  doctrine,  lo) 


PRIMACY   OF   THE    POPE.  31 

sanctity  in  life  presented  in  the  Fathers,  ii)  glory  of  miracles,  12) 
light  of  prophecy,  13)  confession  of  adversaries,  14)  unhappy  end 
of  her  enemies,  and  15)  temporal  felicity  conferred  upon  those 
who  defend  her. 

75.  The  Romish  Doctrine  of  the  Supremacy  of  the  Pope. 

1.  The  Roman  Catholic  theologians  have  defended  this  view 
on  two  great  grounds,  i)  on  the  ground  of  reason,  and  2)  on  the 
ground  of  authority. 

2.  On  the  ground  of  reason  they  maintain  that  the  visible 
body  of  the  Church  must  have  a  visible  head, — that  the  Church  on 
earth,  consisting  of  men,  must  have  a  human  head, — and  that 
unity  ceases  to  be  possible  unless  there  is  an  earthly  centre  of 
unity. 

3.  We  answer:  This  unity  under  one  visible  head  is  not  of 
necessity,  i)  because  the  Church  could  as  well  be  governed  by  an 
aristocracy,  by  many  bishops  equal  among  themselves,  as  by  a 
monarchy,  the  Pope;  2)  because  the  visible  Church  on  earth,  after 
all,  is  only  a  part  of  the  Church,  for  the  Church  includes  the 
departed  saints  and  many  yet  unborn. 

4.  We  grant  that  the  Church  as  a  body  must  have  a  head, 
but  it  is  not  required  by  logic  that  a  part  of  a  body  must  have  a 
head,  and  the  Head  of  the  whole  body  of  the  Church  is  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ, — who  as  the  God-Man,  by  virtue  of  His  true 
humanity,  has  been  exalted  on  high  to  be  Head  over  all  things  to 
the  Church,  visible  and  invisible. 

5.  We  grant  that  earthly  unity  is  desirable,  but  this  is  not 
in  any  way  a  true  mark  of  the  Church,  for  true  unity  is  mainly 
invisible,  and  consists  in  union  one  with  another  in  the  true  Head 
of  the  Church,  Jesus  Christ,  by  a  living  faith. 

76.  On  the  ground  of  authority  the  Roman  Church  has 
urged  that  the  Pope  is  the  visible  Head  of  the  Church,  and  to  be 
apart  from  the  Pope  is  to  be  severed  from  the  Church, — and  that 
this  must  be  invioliably  maintained  for  these  reasons: 

i)  This  was  Christ's  will,  as  He  appointed  Peter  alone  to  be 
the  founder  of  Christianity,  and  the  visible  Head  of  the  whole 
Church  Militant,  the  Rock  on  which  the  Church  was  built; 

2)  To  Peter  was  granted  the  primacy  of  power  and  juris- 
diction over  the  Church  Catholic,  as  well  as  infallibility  for  defin- 
ing doctrine  concerning  faith  or  morals; 

3)  This  supremacy  and  infallibility  were  both  transmitted 
to  his  perpetual  successors  in  the  See  of  Rome,  and  the  Roman 
Pontiff  is  the  successor  of  Peter; 

4)  This  is  the  traditional  doctrine,  and  the  practice  of  the 
Roman  Church. 

77.  We  answer  in  the  first  place:  The  Supremacy  of  St. 
Peter  in  the  Roman  Catholic  sense  is  fmre  fiction,  and  there  is 
no  evidence  for  it  whatever  in  Scripture,  or  in  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  the  Fathers. 

I.  Scripture  gives  us  no  evidence  whatever  that  Peter  alone 
was  appointed  to  be  the  founder  of  Christianity,  and  the  Head  of 
the  Church. 

i)  The  proof  of  the  Roman  theory,  that  Christ  constituted 
the  Apostle  Peter  universal  head  of  the  Church   and   conceded    to 


32  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

him  a  primacy  of  power  and  jurisdiction  over  the  Church,  is  not 
found  in  the  three  passages  cited  from  the  Gospels  (Matt. 
16:17-19;  Luke  22:31,  32;  John  21:15-17),  known  as  the  Petrine 
texts. 

2)  Taking  up,  first,  the  passage  John  21:15-17,  we  may 
remark  that  the  Roman  Church  maintains  that  here  we  have  a 
record  of  the  gift  to  St.  Peter  of  jurisdiction  over  all  the  people 
of  Christ.  They  find  it  in  "Feed  my  sheep"  (John  21:17).  They 
base  their  whole  ^OQ.\.x\VLQ.oi Jurisdiction  over  the  Apostles  and  the 
whole  Church  on  such  a  slender  foundation, — forgetting  that  Peter 
with  the  Apostles  are  also  spoken  of  as  sheep  (Matt.  10:16),  and  that 
all  pastors  equally  have  this  same  office  of  "feeding  the  Church  of 
God"  (Acts  20:28),  and  that  Peter  himself  exhorts  his  "fellow- 
elders"  to  feed  the  flock  of  God  (i  Pet.  5:2).  Peter  did  not  at  this 
time,  nor  at  any  other,  receive  "the  privilege  of  jurisdiction"  over 
the  Church,  nor  over  John, — witness  the  saying  of  Christ,  in  this 
very  connection,  to  Peter,  —  "What  is  that  to  thee?  Follow  thou 
Me"  (John  21:22).  This  whole  passage  has  its  great  significance 
in  this,  that  St.  Peter  is  here  re-instated  after  his  denial  of 
Christ. 

3)  On  Luke  22:31,  32  they  base  their  doctrine  that  Peter 
was  granted  infallibihty,  and  charged  with  guiding  the  faith  of  the 
Apostles,  —  "When  once  thou  hast  turned  again,  stablish  thy 
brethren."  Here  Peter's  fall  is  foretold  and  Christ  encourages 
him,  that  after  his  repentance  he  should  build  up  the  rest  that 
they  sin  not  as  he  has  done.  To  strengthen  others  by  confession 
of  one's  weakness  and  sin,  and  to  encourage  others,  does  not 
bestow  infallibility  nor  give  primacy  and  authority  over  others. 

4)  We  come  now  to  the  last,  and  only  important  passage,  on 
which  Rome  lays  stress.  Matt.  16:18,  "Thou  art  Petros,  and  upon 
\h\% -pctra  I  will  build  my  Church;  and  the  gates  of  Hades  shall 
not  prevail  against  it."  Rome  teaches  that  from  this  verse  we 
learn  that  Peter  is  the  rock  in  his  own  person,  and  that  the 
primacy  is  here  conferred  on  him.  Of  this  doctrine  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  Plumptre  very  forcibly  remarks:  "The  interpretation 
which  has  assumed  ci)  that  the  promise  made  the  Apostle  himself 
the  rock  on  which  the  Church  itself  was  built,  h)  that  it  conveyed 
to  him  a  permanent  supremacy  and  infallible  authority,  c)  that 
the  supremacy  and  infallibility  were  both  transmitted  by  him  to 
his  successors,  d)  that  those  successors  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Bishops  of  Rome  and  in  them  only, — hardly  deserves  a  notice, 
except  as  an  instance  of  a  fantastic  development  worthy  of  the  fore- 
most place  in  any  exhibition  of  the  monstrosities  of  exegesis." 
Comm.  07i  I  Peter,  p,  14.) 

2.  We  hold  that  the  Roman  theory  cannot  be  deduced  from 
their  main  passage,  Matt.  16:18,  for  these  general  reasons: 

i)  Christ  gave  a  like  calling  to  all  the  Apostles  (Matt. 
28:18-20). 

2)  The  power  given  to  Peter  in  Matt.  16:18,  ig,  as  to  the 
power  of  the  keys  (loosing  and  binding)  is  given  in  Matt.  18:18 
and  John  20:21-23,  to  all  Apostles,  and  to  the  Church  in 
general. 

3)  The  very  opposite  is  specifically  taught  in  Eph.  2:20,  for 


PRIMACY   OF   PETER,  33 

the  Church  "is  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Christ  Jesus  himself  being  the  chief  corner  stone,"  and 
not  on  Peter  as  a  person. 

4)  The  whole  history  of  the  Early  Church  as  recorded  in 
the  Acts  and  in  the  Epistles  of  Paul  and  Peter  is  opposed  to  such 
a  view. 

a)  No  one  disputes  the  fact  that  Peter  was  the  recognized 
leader  of  the  Apostles,  and  this  is  plainly  seen  in  the  first  twelve 
chapters  of  Acts.  Of  the  ic^?  occasions  in  which  he  assumes  the 
leadership,  Jive  are  especially  prominent:  i)  He  proposes  the 
election  of  an  apostle  (Acts  1:15,  21,  22);  2)  He  preaches  the  first 
great  Missionary  Sermon  (Acts  2:14-40);  3)  He  passes  judgment 
on  Ananias  and  Sapphira  (Acts  5:3-11);  4)  He  preaches  the  first 
Missionary  Sermon  to  the  Gentiles  (10:34-48);  5)  St.  Paul  after 
his  return  from  Arabia,  goes  up  to  Jerusalem  to  consult  with  Peter 
(Gal.  1:18). 

5)  But  not  one  of  these  acts  singly,  nor  all  of  them  collect- 
ively, give  any  proof  that  Peter  was  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and 
had  the  primacy  of  Jurisdiction  and  of  authority.  In  fact  the  nar- 
rative of  the  election  of  Matthias  (Acts  1:21-26)  furnishes  evidence 
against  it, — for  according  to  the  Roman  theory  Peter  should  have 
filled  the  vacant  place  of  Judas  on  his  own  authority.  So  also  the 
case  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  is  a  miraculous  judgment,  in  a 
special  case,  not  in  any  way  different  in  kind  or  degree  from  that 
exercised  repeatedly  by  St.  Paul  (Acts  13:6-12;  i  Tim.  1:20; 
I  Cor.  5:3). 

6)  There  are  three  facts  recorded  in  the  Acts  which  plainly 
show  that  Peter  did  not  have  the  supremacy  as  maintained  by  the 
Roman  Church,  i)  Peter  was  one  of  those  sent  by  the  Apostles 
to  Samaria  (Acts  8:14-17).  According  to  the  Roman  Church  Peter 
ought  to  have  been  the  sender  and  not  the  one  sent.  2)  Peter 
was  called  to  defend  his  conduct  in  the  matter  of  Cornelius  by  the 
other  Apostles  and  the  brethren  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  11:1-4).  3)  ^^ 
the  council  of  Jerusalem  the  chief  place  was  occupied  by  James, 
who  pronounced  the  decision  of  the  Council  (Acts  15:13-22).  Peter 
has  here  no  more  prominence  than  Barnabas  or  Paul. 

7)  Peter  himself  nowhere  claims  such  supreme  personal 
authority,  as  ruler  or  Head  of  the  Church.  Three  passages  may 
be  quoted,  Acts  10:25,  26;  i  Pet.  5:1,  "I  exhort,  who  am  a  fellow- 
elder,  and  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ";  2  Pet.  3:1,  2, 
"through  your  Apostles". 

8)  So  likewise  St.  Paul  knows  of  no  such  supremacy,  nor 
does  he  anywhere  recognize  it,  for  he  reckons  himself  "not  a  whit 
behind  the  very  chiefest  Apostles"  (2  Cor.  11:5).  i)  His  Apos- 
tolate  and  his  teaching  is  entirely  independent  of  Peter  (Gal.  1:1; 
2:11,  12);  2)  He  claims  to  be  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  (Rom. 
11:3),  independent  of  Peter,  not  building  upon  another  man's 
foundation  (Rom.  15:15-20);  3)  Peter,  in  Paul's  view,  had  no  part 
in  the  founding  of  the  Church  at  Rome,  nor  any  claim  upon  it, 
either  previous  or  co-existing  (Rom.  15:15-20);  4)  Paul  explicitly 
declares  that  the  care  of  all  the  churches  is   his  daily  task  (2  Cor. 


\i  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

(1:28),  and  he  ordains  rules  to  be  observed  in  all  the  churches 
/i  Cor.  7:17;  ii:i,  2). 

g)  Among  these  general  reasons  we  may  also  refer  to  various 
facts  in  Peter's  personal  life  opposed  to  the  Roman  theory,  i) 
Peter  is  the  only  Apostle  sternly  rebuked  by  Christ  (Matt.  16:23); 
2)  He  is  the  only  one  of  the  Apostles,  except  Judas  Iscariot,  who 
denied  Christ  with  an  oath  (Matt.  26:69-75);  3)  He  is  the  only 
Apostle  of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  erred  on  a  point  of  doctrine  and 
morals  (Gal.  2:6-14);  4)  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  the  N.  T. 
he  was  entirely  overshadowed  by  Paul;  5)  we  have  no  evidence  in 
Scripture  that  Peter  had  anything  to  do  with  the  Church  at 
Rome. 

10)  Such  a  view  can  never  be  proven,  either  exegetically  or 
historically. 

3.  We  hold  that  the  word  7'ock  in  Matt.  16:18  does  not  refer 
to  Peter  as  a  person  in  the  sense  that  the  Romanist  claims,  imply- 
ing that  Peter  was  invested  with  a  permanent  primacy  capable  of 
being  transmitted  to  his  successor. 

i)  To  prove  this  Rome  must  show  that  Peter  alone  was  the 
founder  of  Christianity.  Scripture  teaches  just  the  reverse,  as 
has  already  been  shown  (77,  i,  2). 

2)  Rome  must  prove  that  Peter  was  the  vicegerent  of  God 
and  the  Sovereign  of  the  whole  Christian  Church.  There  is  no 
evidence  for  this  in  this  passage,  and  the  whole  teaching  of  the 
N.  T.  is  against  it,  nor  can  it  be  shown  by  any  proof  historical  or 
otherwise. 

3)  Rome  must  show  that  this  supposed  primacy  and  authority 
was  transmissible,  of  which  there  is  no  evidence  in  Scripture  or  in 
history. 

4)  Rome  must  show  that  Peter  lived  and  died  at  Rome, 
which  is  probably  true  but  not  certain,  and  that  he  was,  rather 
than  Paul,  the  head  of  the  Church  at  Rome,  of  which  there  is  no 
evidence  at  all. 

5)  Rome  must  show  that  Peter's  supposed  transmissible 
authority  was  actually  transmitted  to  the  leading  official  of  the 
Church  at  Rome.  Of  this  there  is  no  evidence  in  Scripture  or  in 
history,  nothing  but  a  comparatively  late  tradition.  The  early 
history  of  the  Christian  Church  shows  indeed  that  the  Church  at 
Rome,  as  the  church  of  the  Imperial  City,  had  a  great  natural 
prominence,  but  it  equally  gives  evidence  that  this  prominence 
was  not  supreme,  or  had  any  sovereignty,  recognized  or  claimed, 
(After  Broadus.) 

4.  In  addition  to  the  later  Roman  interpretation  of  the  word 
rock,  three  other  interpretations  have  been  given. 

i)  Some  regard  the  rock^  Christ  Himself  (so  finally  Augus- 
tine, Chemnitz,  Calovius,  and  in  modern  times  Wordsworth  and 
James  Morison).  This  interpretation  expresses  indeed  a  great 
truth,  for  Christ  is  the  true  Rock,  the  one  and  only  foundation  of 
the  Church,  and  "other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ"  (i  Cor.  3:11),  and  no  one  lays 
greater  stress  upon  this  than  Peter  himself  (i  Pet.  2:6-8),  but  cer- 
tainly such  an  interpretation  does  not  give  the  simple  and  primary 
meaning  of  our  Saviour's  words. 


PRIMACY   OF   PETER.  35 

2)  Others  maintain  that  the  rock  is  the  faith  and  corifes- 
sion  of  Peter  (so  already  the  great  majority  of  the  Early  Fathers, 
among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Gregory  of  Nyssa,  Cyril  of  Alex- 
andria, Chrysostom,  Theophylact,  Hilary,  Ambrose,  Augustine, 
and  most  Protestants  since  the  Lutheran  Reformation).  This 
interpretation  also  brings  to  light  a  great  and  glorious  truth,  that 
the  Church  of  God  is  built  upon  the  doctrine  preached  by  the 
Apostles  and  Prophets,  but  surely  this  is  not  an  exact  interpreta- 
tion of  what  Christ  says,  for  "the  Church  is  not  built  upon  abstract 
doctrines  and  confessions,  but  upon  living  peisons  believing  and 
confessing  the  truth  (Eph.  2:20;  i  Pet.  2:4-6;  Gal.  2:9;  Rev.  21:14)." 

3)  The  third  view,  and  the  most  natural  interpretation, 
which  has  the  best  exegetical  foundation,  refers  the  passage  indeed 
to  Peter, — that  he  is  the  rock, — not  however  in  his  own  person  as 
such,  nor  in  his  office,  but  as  the  representative  of  the  Apostles, 
as  professing  in  their  name  the  true  faith,  and  as  such  is  entrusted 
with  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Church  as  the  first  preacher  and 
witness  to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  (Acts  2  and  10).  So  already 
among  others  Bengel  (on  Matt.  16:18):  "Unquestionably  the 
Church  is  built  upon  the  Apostles  (Eph.  2:20;  Rev.  21:14),  inas- 
much as  they  were  both  the  first  to  believe  themselves,  and  the 
means  of  leading  others  to  believe.  And  herein  Peter  exercised  a 
certain  prerogative  as  chief,  without  any  prejudice  to  the  equality 
of  power  in  all  the  Apostles;  for  he  was  both  the  first  to  gain  over 
many  Jews  (Acts  2),  and  the  first  to  admit  the  Gentiles  to  Gospel 
privileges  (Acts  10).  Besides  the  commands,  'Stablish  thy  breth- 
ren' (Luke  17:32)  and  'Feed  my  lambs',  'Feed  my  sheep'  (John 
21:15,  17)  were  specially  given  to  him.  And  there  is  great  signifi- 
cance in  the  fact,  that  the  glorious  name  Rock  (elsewhere  gener- 
ally assigned  to  Christ  Himself,  i  Cor.  10:4,  etc.)  is  here  attributed 
to  Peter,  who  is  always  first  named,  and  placed  in  the  foremost 
rank  in  the  lists  of  the  Apostles  (Matt.  10:2).  And  all  this  may  be 
safely  affirmed;  for  zt'hat  has  this  to  do  zt'ith  Kome'\  And 
Meyer  adds:  "This  primacy  must  be  impartially  conceded,  though 
without  involving  those  inferences  which  Romanists  have  founded 
upon  it;  for  Peter's  successors  are  not  for  a  moment  thought  of  by 
Jesus,  neither  can  the  Popes  claim  to  be  his  successors,  nor  was 
Peter  himself  ever  bishop  of  Rome,  nor  had  he  any  more  to  do 
with  the  founding  of  the  Church  at  Rome  than  the  Apostle  Paul". 

4)  This  can  be  the  only  true  interpretation  of  this  passage. 
It  has  well  been  said,  that  no  other  explanation  would  probably  at 
the  present  day  be  offered  by  Protestant  commentators,  but  for 
the  fact  that  the  obvious  meaning  has  been  so  abused  by  the 
Roman  Church  to  the  support  of  their  theory.  This  interpreta- 
tion can  be  maintained  without  periling,  in  the  least  degree,  any 
of  the  great  principles  of  Protestantism.  This  view  has  been 
accepted  by  many  of  the  greatest  modern  exegetes  (Huther,  Meyer, 
Weiss,  Alford,  Geikie,  Farrar,  Schaff,  Gloag,  Broadus,  and 
others). 

5)  As  a  proof  that  the  Roman  Church  cannot  even  rely  for 
their  interpretation  of  Matt.  16:18,  with  reference  to  the  primacy 
and  "privilege"  of  Peter,  on  "the  taianimous  consent  of  the 
fathers"  it  will  be  sufi&cient  to  refer  to  the  famous  speech  of  Arch- 


3G  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

bishop  Kenrick  of  St.  Louis  in  the  Vatican  Council  {;pri?ited 
but  not  delivered) ,  Naples,  1870  (edited  by  Dr.  Bacon,  printed  by 
American  Tract  Society).  As  a  member  of  the  Council  he,  with 
many  others,  was  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Infallibility  of 
the  Pope, — and  to  support  his  position  he  quotes  a  pamphlet  (the 
scholarship  of  which  v/e  can  accept)  showing  that  among  the 
Early  Fathers  the  following  interpretations  were  held  as  to  the 
meaning  of  the  word  rock:  1)  That  the  word  refers  to  Peter; 
accepted  by  seventeen  fathers — among  them  Origen,  Cyprian, 
Jerome,  Hilary,  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  Leo  the  Great,  Augustine; 
2)  all  the  Apostles,  whom  Peter  represented  by  virtue  of  the 
primacy;  taught  bv  eight  fathers — among  them  Origen,  Cyprian, 
Jerome,  Augustine,  Theodoret;  3)  the  faith  which  Peter  had  pro- 
fessed. This  interpretation  is  regarded  as  the  weightiest  of  all, 
since  it  is  followed  hy  forty-four  fathers  and  doctors;  4)  that  the 
word  rock  refers  to  Christ;  followed  by  sixteen  doctors. 

6)  The  reason  some  of  the  Fathers  are  cited  in  holding  two 
or  more  views  is  because  they  take  it  in  different  senses,  at  differ- 
ent times,  and  sometimes  combine  two  views,  sometimes  leaning 
to  one  or  the  other  side  (see  citations  in  Littledale,  The  Petrine 
Claims,  pp.  74-79). 

5.  We  can  thus  fairly  conclude  that  the  Roman  theory  of 
Peter's  primacy  and  jurisdiction  has  no  foundation  whatever  in 
Scripture  nor  in  early  tradition,  and  is  altogether  pure  fiction. 
There  is  no  basis  whatever,  either  Scriptural  or  historical,  for  the 
huge  fabric  of  Papal  claims. 

78.  We  answer,  in  the  second  place:  The  Pope  of  Rome  is 
neither  successor  to  Peter  in  the  Episcopal  chair,  nor  head  nor 
monarch  of  the  Christian  Church. 

I.  History  knows  nothing  of  an  episcopate  of  Peter  at  Rome. 
Some  writers  of  great  learning  (like  De  Wette,  Baur,  Hase,  Holtz- 
mann,  Lipsius,  Winer,  etc.)  deny  that  Peter  was  ever  at  Rome, 
but  the  fact  of  Peter's  residence  at  Rome  after  64  A.  D.  is  accepted 
(on  the  testimony  of  the  Early  Fathers)  by  most  modern  scholars. 
But  "the  Roman  tradition  of  a  twenty  or  twenty-five  years'  epis- 
copate of  Peter  in  Rome  is  unquestionably  a  colossal  chronological 
mistake"  (Schaff). 

i)  Littledale  {The  Petrine  Claims)  cites  all  the  extant  evi- 
dence to  be  found  in  the  Ante-Nicene  period  {ni?ieteen  passages), 
and  sums  up  his  investigation  in  these  words:  "No  tittle  of  proof 
is  derivable  from  the  fairly  copious  remains  of  the  ecclesiastical 
literature  of  the  first  three  centuries,  that  St.  Peter  was  ever 
Bishop  of  Rome,  or  that  he  transmitted  the  peculiar  privilege  of 
supremacy  and  infallibility  to  his  successors  in  the  See"  (p.  180). 

2)  The  real  basis  of  the  ultramontane  claim  of  Rome  is 
Jerome's  Latin  version  of  the  Chronicle  of  Eusebius,  where,  under 
the  year  40,  we  read:  "Peter  the  Apostle,  after  he  had  first 
founded  the  Church  at  Antioch,  is  sent  to  Rome,  and  preaching 
the  Gospel  there,  he  abode  as  bishop  for  twenty-five  years".  But 
owing  i)  to  discrepancies  between  the  Armenian,  Syrian,  and 
Latin  Versions,  2)  to  the  temptation  of  copyists  continually  to  alter 
by  adding  matter  to  bring  the  annals  down  to  date,  and  3)  to  the 
entire  silence  on  these  points  at  issue  in  the  more  detailed  history 


PRIMACY   OF   THE   POPE.  37 

of  this  period  as  given  in  the  famous  ^zs^fory  by  the  same  writer, — 
we  cannot  in  any  way  rely  on  this  testimony,  for  it  evidently  is 
an  interpolation  by  some  unknown  scribe,  at  some  earlier  date. 

3)  It  is  not  till  the  Post-Nicene  period,  at  the  close  of  the 
fourth  century,  that  the  episcopate  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome  is  clearly 
alleged  as  a  matter  of  fact,  and  the  writer  (Optatus  of  Milevis,  d. 
after  386)  knows  more  about  the  details  and  is  more  positive  about 
them  than  any  writer  of  the  first  three  centuries.  But  Epipha- 
nius  {d.  403)  in  opposition  to  Optatus,  expressly  says  that  we  have 
no  accurate  knowledge  about  this  topic,  since  there  is  conflicting 
documentary  evidence.      (See  Littledale,  The  PetriJie  Claims.) 

4)  There  is  therefore  no  historical  basis  whatever  to  prove 
that  Peter  was  ever  Bishop  at  Rome. 

2.  If  Peter  was  an  Apostle,  he  could  not  have  been  a  Bishop, 
i)     A  N.  T.  bishop  was  the  pastor  of  a  congregation.     When 

in  the  second  century  diocesan  bishops  arose,  they  were  the  heads 
of  a  limited  province. 

2)  Peter  was  not  the  pastor  of  a  congregation,  nor  the  head 
of  a  diocese. 

3)  If  Peter  had  been  a  bishop  of  Rome,  the  present  bishops 
of  Rome  are  not  his  successors,— not  in  doctrine,  for  their  teach- 
ings are  in  conflict  with  his  teachings,  nor  in  life. 

4)  Even  were  it  granted  that  Peter  had  a  supremacy  among 
the  Apostles,  that  would  not  prove  that  his  supremacy  was  capable 
of  transmission  to  any  one,  or  that  if  it  could  be  transmitted,  it 
would  of  a  necessity  be  transferred  to  the  future  bishops  of  a 
locality  in  which  Peter  had  lived,  or  that  the  place  where  he  last 
labored  would  be  the  one  in  which  the  transmission  would  be  kept 
up,  over  against  the  other  places  in  which  he  also  had  labored. 

3.  As  regards  the  second  point,  the  Church  knew  nothing 
before  Constantine's  time  of  a  visible  head,  and  after  the  rise  of 
the  claims  of  the  Bishops  of  Rome,  an  immense  part  of  Christen- 
dom, embracing  the  most  venerable  and  august  sees,  ignored 
those  claims  and  continued  to  be  governed  by  Patriarchs  and  in 
other  ways. 

i)  The  Greek  Church,  the  most  ancient  part  of  Christen- 
dom, is  as  strongly  opposed  to  the  claims  of  the  Papacy  as  Protest- 
ism,  and  is  more  intensely  bitter. 

2)  The  special  dignity  of  the  Popes  is  altogether  a  matter 
of  purely  human  origin  and  arrangement. 

3)  The  earliest  concessions,  looking  to  any  primacy,  made 
to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  conceded  simply  a  primacy  of  honor, 
because  of  the  political  importance  of  the  city,  Rome. 

4)  The  primacy  of  power  and  Jurisdiction  was  expressly 
denied  to  the  Pope  in  Canon  28  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon, 
451,  A.  D.  "We,  following  in  all  things  the  decisions  of  the  holy 
fathers do  also  determine  and  decree  the  same  things  respect- 
ing the  privileges  of  the  most  holy  city  of  Constantinople,  the 
new  Rome.  For  the  fathers  properly  gave  the  primacy  to  the 
throne  of  the  elder  Rome,  because  this  zcas  I  he  imperial  city." 

5)  When  the  Roman  legates  at  this  Council  (Chalcedon, 
451  A.  D.)  produced  a  forged  copy  of  the  Nicene  Canons,  con- 
taining,  in  the  Sixth  Canon,     the  words   "The  Romari    See  has 


38  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

always  had  the  Primacy,''  the  Judges,  after  hearing  the  whole 
case,  ruled  that  the  alleged  canon  was  unauthentic  and  an  inter- 
polation. 

4.  We  have  also  seen  that  the  claim  of  Rome  cannot  be  based 
upon  Patristic  testimony,  and  is  absolutely  contrary  to  the  facts 
in  the  case.  We  can  fitly  close  this  discussion  on  the  Su-premacy 
of  the  Pope  in  the  words  of  a  Roman  Catholic  writer  and  Pro- 
fessor, written  when  opposing  the  decrees  of  the  Vatican  Council 
(to  which  however  he  submitted  before  his  death):  "In  the  history 
of  the  human  mind,  there  is  no  question,  theological,  philanthropi- 
cal,  historical,  or  otherwise,  which  has  been  so  disgraced  by 
falsehood,  bad  faith,  and  the  whole  work  of  the  forgers,  as 
Papal  Autho7-ity.  I  repeat  it,  It  is  a  question  utterly  gan- 
grened by  fraud." 

79.  Papal  hifallihility  has  not  a  single  proof  in  its  favor 
either  in  Scripture  or  in  history. 

1.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  Rome  that  the  ex 
cathedra  decisions  of  the  Pope,  in  matters  of  faith  and  morals,  are 
infallible. 

2.  The  entire  claim  of  Papal  Infallibility  rests  on  the 
Roman  view  of  the  Supremacy  of  Peter,  and  on  their  theory  that 
the  Pope  has  fallen  heir  to  all  Peter's  privileges, — a  theory,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  utterly  without  any  foundation  in  Scripture 
or  in  history. 

3.  The  Vatican  Council  affirmed  the  Papal  Infallibility  in 
1870  on  the  basis  of  the  three  "Petrine  texts,"  by  a  method  of 
interpretation  which  cannot  be  maintained. 

4.  The  Bishop  of  Rome  was  not  regarded  in  the  Early 
Church  as  an  infallible  teacher  and  ruler. 

5.  Pope  Liberius  in  357  A.  D.  subscribed  an  Arian  creed, 
and  anathematized  St.  Athanasius  as  a  heretic. 

6.  At  the  sixth  General  Council  at  Constantinople  (681 
A.  D.),  Pope  Honorius  was  universally  condemned  as  a  heretic, 
for  being  a  Monothelite,  and  every  Pope  for  several  centuries 
had  to  renew  the  anathema,  at  the  time  of  his  coronation. 

7.  The  Western  Church  (on  the  principle  that  Popes 
may  err  in  the  discharge  of  their  office,  and  that  they  are 
subject  to  the  discipline  of  the  collective  Church),  on  its  own 
authority  has  deposed  Popes  John  XII.,  Benedict  IX.,  Gregory 
VI.,  Gregory  XII.,  and  John  XXIII., — the  last  in  express  terms 
as  "simoniac,  sorcerer,  schismatic,  and  heretic." 

8.  To  prove  that  Rome  may  err,  and  that  she  does  not 
always  teach  the  same,  we  need  only  refer  to  the  famous  work 
{Sic  et  N^on)  of  Abelard  {d.  1142),  or  give  one  illustration.  Pius 
IX.  on  Dec.  8th,  1854,  decreed  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary, — a  tenet  which  had  been 
denied,  and  regarded  as  heresy,  by  orthodox  Catholics,  including 
fourteeyi  Popes,  for  a  thousand  years, — a  doctrine  which  is  con- 
trary to  the  well-nigh  "unanimous  teaching  of  the  Fathers." 

9.  Such  was  the  terrible  condition  of  the  Roman  Church 
during  the  tenth  century,  that  a  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop, 
writing  at  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  says  of  this  period: 
"This  period  was  unfortunate  in  so  far  that  during  nearly  150  years 


INFALLIBILITY  OF  THE  POPE.  39 

ahoutjif^y  Popes  have  fallen  away  from  the  virtues  of  their  prede- 
cessors, being  apostates  or  apostatical,  rather  than  apostoli- 
cal." Nothing  further  need  be  said  to  prove  the  falsity  of  their 
theory. 

lo.  Though  the  Roman  Church  claims  infallibility,  no 
Roman  Catholic  until  within  our  own  day  has  been  able,  from 
any  utterance  of  the  Church,  to  say  where  this  infallibility  lies. 

i)     Some  said  it  lies  in  the  Pope  (ultramontanism); 

2)  Others  said  that  it  lies  in  a  General  Council  (Galli- 
canism); 

3)  Still  others  that  it  lies  in  the  concurrent  action  of  the 
General  Council  and  the  Pope. 

4)  Even  the  Council  of  Trent,  whose  silence  in  general 
about  the  doctrine  concerning  the  Church  is  very  striking,  did  not 
decide  the  question. 

5)  After  the  lapse  of  centuries  the  Vatican  Council  of  1870 
decided  this  question. 

6)  The  matter  was  so  adroitly  arranged,  that  a  Council, 
acknowledged  by  the  Romanists  to  be  General,  with  the  Pope  at 
its  head,  declared  that  the  infallibility  lies  in  the  Pope.  No 
matter  what  view  any  one  may  have  had  before,  he  must  now 
admit  that  it  lies  in  the  Pope,  a)  If  he  said  so  before,  his 
opinion  is  confirmed;  h)  If  he  said,  Infallibility  lies  in  a  General 
Council,  that  General  Council  has  declared  that  it  lies  in  the 
Pope;  c)  If  he  ascribe  it  to  both,  both  have  said,  it  belongs  to  the 
Pope. 

80.  With  the  fall  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Supremacy  and  the 
lafallibility  of  the  Pope,  also  falls  to  the  ground  the  Roman  doc- 
trine of  the  co7itinued  Inspirationoi  the  leaders  of  the  Church, — 
for  Rome  without  any  foundation  in  Scripture  or  history,  holds 
to  a  living  apostolate  in  the  Church,  perpetuating  itself  through 
all  time, — an  inspiration  constantly  kept  up  in  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Church. 

81.  With  reference  to  the  other  characteristics  and  marks  of 
the  Church  emphasized  by  the  Romanists,  we  may  reply: 

1.  Some  of  these  marks  are  entirely  fallacious,  being  in  no 
respect  essential  marks  of  the  Church. 

2.  So  far  as  these  marks  imply  pure  doctrine  and  the 
administration  of  the  right  sacraments,  the  notes  are  indeed  cor- 
rect, but  they  apply  either  very  imperfectly  or  not  at  all  to  the 
Church  of  Rome. 

3.  The  statement  of  the  marks  or  notes  of  the  Church  is 
based  upon  the  presumption  that  the  Church  of  Rome  is  the  only 
true  and  universal  Church,  and  the  definition  is  made  to  suit  to 
that  which  her  admirers  suppose  her  to  be.  They  do  not  test  her 
by  a  true  definition,  but  they  test  the  definition  by  her. 

82.  We  may  answer  the  different  points  emphasized  by  Bel- 
larmine  (74,  11)  in  the  following  way  (covering  the  whole  position 
of  the  Romanists) : 

I.  The  7iame  Catholic.  The  Catholic  name  may  be  with- 
out the  true  Catholic  or  Christian  faith, — as  it  was  among  the 
Novatians  and  Donatists,  who  claimed  by  pre-eminence  and  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  others,  to   be   the   true   Catholics, — and  the 


40  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

faith  may  be  without  the  name.  The  name  is  ecclesiastical,  not 
divine,  and  the  thing  which  is  divine  may  be  expressed  by  other 
names. 

The  Church  may  be  called  Catholic  with  respect  to  quality 
or  with  respect  to  quantity.  The  Roman  Church  is  not  Catho- 
lic with  respect  to  quality,  i.  e.,  in  her  doctrine  and  faith,  nor 
does  she  profess  the  faith  which  the  whole  body  of  believers  has 
always  professed.  She  is  not  the  true  and  Christian  Church,  as 
tested  by  Scripture  and  the  teaching  of  the  Early  Church.  Nor 
is  the  Roman  Church  Catholic  with  respect  to  quajitity,  for  she 
has  only  a  few  million  more  adherents  than  are  arrayed  against 
her  in  the  Greek  and  Oriental  Churches  and  the  Protestant 
Churches,   all  of  which  deny  her  arrogant  pretensions. 

2.  Ajitiqidty.  But  error  may  also  be  old.  Tertullian  well 
says.  Without  the  Word  of  God,  antiquity  is  of  no  value.  Truth 
is  older  than  all. 

3.  Abiditig  duratio7i.  But  error  and  evil  have  also  perti- 
nacity of  life.  The  empire  of  falsehood  has  stood  for  ages  and 
still  stands  apparently  unshaken.  Both  truth  and  error  will 
stand  until  the  harvest. 

4.  Multitude  of  believers.  But  the  world  is  wider  and 
contains  more  adherents  than  the  Church.  Even  among  pro- 
fessed Christians  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  barely  a 
majority. 

5.  Succession  of  hishofs  from  the  Apostles.  The  falsity 
of  the  theory  underlying  this  statement  has  already  been  shown. 
We  have  no  warrant  in  Scripture  or  in  history  that  any  authority 
or  Jurisdiction  in  the  special  Roman  sense  belonged  to  Peter,  or 
that  this  "Privilege  of  Peter"  was  transferred  to  the  bishops  of 
Rome.  The  canonical  succession  of  the  Roman  Catholic  bishops 
is  in  many  respects  more  than  doubtful,  but  even  if  the  theory 
were  sound  and  the  canonical  succession  ascertainable  in  the 
Church  of  Rome,  the  Greek  Church,  and  the  whole  body  of 
Oriental  Sects  (like  the  Nestorians),  and  the  Church  of  England, 
and  the  Lutheran  Church  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  have  the  same 
sort  of  succession,  and  all  these  deny  the  position  taken  by 
Rome. 

6.  Afostolicity,  or  agreement  in  doctrine  with  the  Ancient 
Church.  But  the  Roman  Church,  in  many  points,  is  not  in  unison 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  Ancient  Church,  nor  with  the  Apostolic 
doctrine.  The  teaching  of  the  Roman  Church — "Outside  of  the 
visible  Church,  that  is,  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  there  is  no 
salvation" — is  false  and  contrary  to  Scripture.  It  is  only  of  the 
invisible  Church  that  the  proposition  holds  good:  "Outside 
of  the  Church  is  no  salvation."  This  is  but  another  way  of  say- 
ing— "without  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  it  is  impossible  to  be   saved." 

a)  Within  the  visible  Church  there  has  been  and  always 
will  be  an  invisible  Church  holding  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus, 
and  holding  to  Jesus  through  the  truth,  and  outside  of  this  invisi- 
ble Church  there  is  no  revealed    possibility  of  salvation. 

b)  The  saved  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  world,  but  in  the 
visible  Church;  and  in  the  visible  Church  they  are  to  be  found  not 
among  those  who  are  simply  z>z  but  not  of  it,  but  among  its 
true  members,  living  believers  and  saints. 


TEACHING   OF   LUTHERAN   CONFESSIONS.  4C 

the  institution  and  commandment  of  Christ,  though  they  be 
delivered  by  evil  men." 

91.  In  Chap.  IV.  of  the  ApoloRv,  on  Arts.  VII.  and  VIII.  of 
the_A.  C.,  it  is  noticed  that  the  Komanists  condemn  Art.  VII, 
of  A^^C.,  especially  for  affirming  that  "the  Church  is  the  congre- 
gation ofsaints. "  The  Apology  goes  on  W  Say,  "for  this  reason, 
we  added  the  eighth  Article,  lest  any  one  may  think  that  we 
separate  the  wicked  a,nd  hypocrites  from  the  outward  fellowship 
of  the  Church,  or  that  we  deny  efficacy  to  the  sacraments  when 
they  are  administered  by  hypocrites  or  wicked  men." 

We  may  analyze  the  discussion  as  follows: 

I.     The  definition  of  the  Church  (§  1-29). 

i)  Hypocrites  and  wicked  men  have  only  outward  fellowship 
with  the  Church  (^  1-3). 

2)  Sacraments  are  efficacious  even  when  administered  by 
wicked  men  (§  3,  4). 

3)  The  Church  is  principally  a  spiritual  fellowship  of  faith 
and  in  the  Holy  Ghost  (|  5). 

4)  The  outward  marks  of  this  fellowship  are  two,  a)  the 
pure  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  and  d)  the  right  administration  of  the 
Sacraments  (  §5,  6). 

5)  Paul  defines  the  Church  in  exactly  the  same  way,  and 
also  adds  the  outward  marks,  the  Word  and  Sacraments,  Eph. 
5:25-27  (§  7). 

6)  The  true  definition  of  the  Church  is,  the  congregation  of 
saints  (§  8). 

7)  This  article  is  very  comforting  and  highly  necessary 
(§  9  ii)- 

8)  The  Church  is  not  properly  an  outward  polity,  but  the 
Church  is  the  true  people  of  God,  regenerated  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
(g  12-14). 

9)  The  Church  is  distinguished  from  "the  people  of  the 
Law"  (§  14,  15). 

10)  The  Church  is  distinguished  from  the  kingdom  of  the 
devil  (§  16). 

11)  Wicked  men,  though  outwardly  members  of  the  Church, 
are  not  the  Church  {'i  17-19). 

12)  This  is  not  a  Platonic  dream,  for  the  Church  really 
exists,  and  consists  in  "the  truly  beheving  and  righteous  men 
scattered  throughout  the  world"  (|  20). 

13)  The  external  marks  of  this  Church  are  two,  "the  pure 
doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  Sacraments." 

14)  "And  this  Church  is  properly  the  pillar  of  the  truth" 
(i  Tim.  3:15),  "for  it  retains  the  pure  Gospel,  'the  foundation', 
z.  e.,  the  true  knowledge  of  Christ  and  faith  (i  Cor.   3:12)"   (|  20). 

15)  "The  Church  consists  of  those  persons  in  whom  there  is 
a  true  knowledge  and  confession  of  faith  and  truth"  (§  21,  22). 

16)  The  definition  of  the  Church  as  given  by  Rome  is  not  a 
definition  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  but  of  the  papal  kingdom, 
and  of  the  kingdom  of  Antichrist,  pictured  by  Daniel  (11:36,  37) 
(§  23-27). 

17)  The  Scripture  doctrins,  Uisa,  is  this  (i  28,  29): 


46  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

a)  "The  Church,  properly  so  called,  is  the  congregation  of 
saints,  who  truly  believe  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  have  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

b)  In  this  life  many  hypocrites  and  wicked  men  are  members 
of  the  Church  according  to  the  fellowship  of  outward  signs. 

c)  "The  fact  that  the  sacraments  are  administered  by  the 
unworthy,  does  not  detract  from  their  efficacy,  because  on  account 
of  the  call  of  the  Church,  they  represent  the  person  of  Christ,  and 
do  not  represent  their  own  persons,  as  Christ  testifies  (Luke  io:i6): 
"He  that  heareth  you  heareth  me.'" 

2.  Of  the  unity  of  theXllurch  (§  30-46). 

1)  The  true  unity  of  theTrfitlrch  consists  in  spiritual  unity 
(§  30.  31)-  "They  are  one  harmonious  Church,  who  believe  in 
one  Christ,  who  have  one  Gospel,  one  Spirit,  one  faith,  the  same 
sacraments." 

2)  "The  true  unity  of  the  Church  is  not  injured  by  dissimilar 
rites  instituted  by  men"  (§  32-37). 

3)  The  demand  of  Rome  that  we  must  observe  human  rites 
and  ordinances  to  establish  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  contrary  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles.  "The  Apostles  did  not  wish  us  to 
believe  that  such  rites  are  necessary  for  righteousness  before  God"; 
"they  did  not  wish  to  place  righteousness  and  sin  in  the  observ- 
ance of  days,  food,  and  the  like.  Yea,  Paul  calls  such  opinions 
doctrines  of  devils"  (i  Tim.  4:1)  (§  38-46). 

3.  QjT^rt.  VIIL  the  Apology  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
Rome  did  not  objecl  to  this  ArticTeT"' 

i)  "Sacraments  are  efiScacious  even  though  distributed  by 
wicked  ministers"  {§  47-49). 

2)      "It  is  lawful  for  Christians  to  use  civil  ordinances"  (§  50). 
92.     The  treatment  in  the  SjjialcaJiLArticles  is  very  brief. 

1.  The  Church  of  Rome  is  not  the  Cliurch  (§1). 

2.  The  Church  consists  of  saints  and  believers  (^  2). 

"For,  thank  God,  today  a  child  seven  years  old  knows  what 
the  Church  is,  viz.,  saints,  believers  and  lambs  who  hear  the  voice 
of  the  Shepherd.  For  the  children  repeat:  I  believe  in  one  holy, 
Catholic  or  Christian  Church." 

3.  The  holiness  of  the  Church  "consists  in  the  Word  of 
God  and  true  faith"  (^  3). 

93-  la-theXarge.  Catechism  (Art.  Ill,  of  tb-e_JIieed)  special 
attention  is  given  to  the  explanation  of  the  expression  'congrega- 
tion of  saints"  and  the  discussion  is  summed  up  as  follows: 

1.  "I  believe  that  there  is  upon  earth  a  holy  assembly  and 
congregation  of  pure  saints,  under  one  head,  even  Christ,  called 
together  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  one  faith,  one  mind  and  under- 
standing, with  manifold  gifts,  yet  one  in  love,  without  sect  or 
schisms". .  . .  (^  51). 

2.  "Until  the  last  day  the  Holy  Ghost  abides  with  the  holy 
congregation  or  Christian  people"  (i  53). 

3.  "By  means  of  this  congregation  the  Holy  Ghost  brings  us 
to  Christ  and  teaches  and  preaches  to  us  the  Word,  whereby  He 
works  and  promotes  sanctification"  (§  53). 

4.  "Outside  of  this  Christian  Church,  where  the  Gospel  is 


LECTURE  ON  ART.  VII.  OF  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.   47 

not,  there  is  no  forgiveness,  as  also  there  can  be  no  sanctification" 

(§  56). 

94.  Although  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  was  not  directly- 
discussed  in  the  Formula  of  Concord,  there  are  several  important 
statements  confirming  the  doctrine  as  stated  in  the  earlier  Confes- 
sions. We  need  only  refer  to  three  passages,  bearing  on  the  utiity 
of  the  Church.  ^"  *     ^ 

1.  For  thorough,  permanent  unity  in  the  Church,  it  is  before 
all  things  necessary  that  we  have  a  comprehensive,  unanimously 
approved  summary  and  form  of  the  pure  doctrine  of  God's  Word 
{hit rod.  to  Sol.  Decl.  §  i,  2). 

2.  "For  the  maintenance  of  pure  doctrine,  and  for  thorough, 
permanent,  godly  unity  in  the  Church,  it  is  necessary  not  only 
that  pure,  wholesome  doctrine  be  rightly  presented,  but  also  that 
the  opponents  who  teach  otherwise  be  reproved"  (i  Tim.  3:2,15; 
2  Tim.  3:16;  Tit.  1:9;  John  10:12;  Jer.  15:19).  {hitrod.  to  Sol. 
Decl.,  \  14). 

3.  Uniformity  of  ceremonies  are  not  necessary  for  true 
unity. 

"We  believe,  teach  and  confess  that  no  Church  should  con- 
demn another  because  one  has  less  or  more  external  ceremonies 
not  commanded  by  God  than  the  other,  if  otherwise  there  is 
agreement  among  them  in  doctrine  and  all  its  articles,  as  also  in 
the  right  use  of  the  holy  sacraments,  according  to  the  v/ell-known 
saying:  'Disagreement  in  fasting  does  not  destroy  agreement  in 
faith'  "  {Epit.  Chap.  X.  7).    (The  quotation  is  from  Irenaeus.) 

V.      Outline  of  Dr.  Krauth's  Lecture  0}i  Art.  VII.   of  Augsburg 

Confession. 

95.  Outline  of  Lecture  on  Art.  VII.  of  Augsburg  Confession. 
(Based  on  Dr.  Krauth's  Lecture  i?i  Mayiuscript). 

1.  "Unto  the  true  unity  of  the  Church"  two  things  are  neces- 
sary, i)  "it  is  sufficient  to  agree  concerning  the  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel,"  and  2)  "the  administration  of  the  sacraments." 

2.  The  proof  passage  cited,  Eph.  4:5,  says  one  faith,  and 
without  this  one  faith  all  the  other  parts  of  the  unity  are  impossible; 
and  with  this  one  faith  all  the  other  parts  of  the  unity  come  as  a 
matter  of  course.  It  is  the  one  faith  which  knits  us  into  the 
"one  body",  one  faith  which  is  the  gift  of  the  "one  Spirit";  it  is  the 
one  faith  looking  out  into  the  future,  which  is  the  ground  of  the 
"one  hope"  of  our  calling;  it  is  the  one  faith  which  rests  on  the 
"one  Lord",  and  unites  us  with  Him;  it  is  the  one  faith  to  which 
the  "one  Baptism"  offers  its  grace,  and  seals  its  blessings,  and 
hence  it  is  the  one  faith  which  makes  us  children  indeed  of  "one 
God  and  Father  of  all". 

3.  The  second  mark  of  unity  is  that  the  sacraments  are 
rightly  administered,  i.  e.,  as  the  Gospel  commands. 

4.  What  the  teaching  of  the  Gospel  is  concerning  the  Sacra- 
ment of  initiation,  Baptism,  we  learn  from  Matt.  28:18-20,  where 
our  Lord  represents  it  as  a  constituent  element  of  unity  of  the 
Church,  that  we  be  baptized  "into  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 


48  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

5.  Notejirst,  that  our  Saviour  grounds  the  ministry  upon 
His  own  supreme  power  as  Mediator,  intrinsically  His  as  God, 
and  given  to  Him  as  man,  "all  authority  hath  been  given  to  me  in 
heaven  and  on  earth".  The  ministry  rests  upon  the  supreme 
authority  of  our  Lord. 

6.  Note  secondly,  that  from  Himself  as  the  center  and  as  the 
result  of  this  authority  they  are  to  go  forth.  The  ministry  is  a 
moving,  aggressive,  progressing  office,  not  waiting  to  be  sought,  but 
of  a  missionary  and  seeking  activity. 

7.  Note  thirdly,  that  they  were  to  make  disciples,  not  to 
found  monarchies.  "Make  ye  disciples"  indicates  the  process 
and  the  result.  They  were  to  bear  the  whole  energy  of  the 
Gospel  as  Word  and  Sacrament,  and  by  it  to  make  men   disciples. 

8.  Fourthly,  the  basis  of  the  making  of  a  disciple  was  to  be 
the  baptism  of  men.  The  maturing  of  disciples  was  to  be  the 
ampler  teaching  of  the  truth.  "To  make  a  disciple"  includes  two 
things,  i)  baptizing  and  2)  teaching,  and  the  baptism  is  put  first. 
The  entire  structure  of  the  sentence,  so  far  from  favoring  the  per- 
version that  of  necessity  instruction  must  precede  baptism,  asserts 
directly  the  contrary.  Some  instruction  of  adults  preceded  their 
baptism,  enough  to  enable  them  intelligently  to  receive  baptism, 
but  the  great  body  of  instruction  in  their  case,  and  the  entire 
instruction  in  the  case  of  their  infant  children,  followed  it.  Almost 
the  entire  mass  of  the  Apostolic  instruction  as  given  in  the  Epistles 
is  designed  for  those  already  baptized. 

9.  The  baptismal  commission  of  our  Lord  covers  the  whole 
essential  unity  of  the  Church.  It  directly  asserts  all  the  main 
points  of  Art.  VII.  of  the  A.  C. 

i)     Both  teacti  that  tTTeFeTis  to  be  one  Church. 

2)  Both  declare  that  this  one  Church  is  to  remain  "even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world"  (Matt.  28:20). 

3)  Both  teach  that  the  saints  are  to  be  gathered,  made  dis- 
ciples of,  and  that  among  them  the  Gospel  is  to  be  purely  preached 
and  the  sacraments  rightly  administered.  "Whatsover  I  com- 
mand you"  means  zuhat  I  have  commanded  and  as  I  have  com- 
manded (Acts  28:20). 

10.  That  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  is  essential  to  the  unity 
of  the  Church  is  further  seen  by  noting  how  strongly  the  New 
Testament  guards  against  two  antithetical  errors: 

i)  Against  the  "opus  operatum"  as  if  he  that  believeth  not, 
and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved;  and 

2)  the  more  plausible  opposite  perversion,  as  if  he  that 
believeth,  and  is  not  baptized,  shall  be  saved. 

3)  Our  Lord  attests  the  truth  over  against  both  these 
errors,  when  He  lays  it  down  as  the  law  of  the  kingdom  that 
"he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved"  (Mark  16:16). 

4)  No  one  is  to  connect  and  read  a  not  either  with 
"believeth"  or  with  "baptized." 

11.  There  are  many  Scripture  passages  which  prove  that 
Baptism  rightly  administered  is  a  necessary  characteristic  of  the 
one  Church,  and  essential  to  its  true  unity. 

i)     In  Acts  2:38  in  answer  to  the  question  asked  by  convicted 


LECTURE   ON   ART.   VII.   OF   AUGSBURG    CONFESSION.        49 

men,  "What  shall  we  do"?  the  Apostle  Peter  said,  "Repent"  and 
there  the  answer  of  many  moderns  would  end;  but  the  Apostle 
adds,  "and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  unto  the  remission  of  your  sins;  and  ye  shall  receive  the 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost". 

2)  In  Acts  22:16,  Ananias,  after  having  restored  Saul's  sight, 
directs  him  to  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  his  sins,  calling  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord. 

3)  In  I  Cor.  12:13,  "For  in  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body.... and  were  made  to  drink  of  one  Spirit", 
Baptism  is  declared  to  be  the  sole  ordinary  instrument  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  whereby  men  are  inserted  into  Christ's  own  body. 

4)  From  Gal.  3:27,  "For  as  many  of  you  as  were  baptized 
into  Christ  did  put  on  Christ",  we  learn  that  Baptism  in  the  fulness 
of  its  blessing,  rightly  received,  unites  us  to  Christ,  and  invests 
us  with  all  that  Christ  brings.  Over  against  the  idea  of  "opus 
operatum",  that  Baptism  saves  without  faith.  Gal.  3:26  says,  "Ye 
are  all  sons  of  God,  through  faith,  in  Christ  Jesus",  and  then 
proves  this  by  the  following  verse  (Gal.  3:27),  a  most  manifest 
proof  that  Holy  Baptism  offers  to  faith  that  by  which  the  believer 
is  actually  invested  with  Christ.  For  by  baptism  one  becomes  a 
member  of  the  body  of  Christ,  is  incorporated  into  the  fermaneiit 
communion  of  Christ,  as  well  as  into  His  means  and  effects  of 
grace,  whereby  he  receives  the  conditions  for  a  progressive 
development  of  personality.  Even  to  a  believer,  who  by  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus  has  become  God's  child  (Gal.  3:26),  baptism  is  to  be 
regarded  as  the  means  which  conveys,  seals,  and  invests  a  man 
with  the  grace  symbolized  in  its  external  part. 

5)  In  I  Pet.  3:21,  "which  also  after  a  true  likeness  doth  now 
save  you,  even  baptism",  Baptism,  in  its  true  function  is  made 
parallel  to  the  flood.  It  is  the  instrument  of  separation.  It  is 
that  which  while  it  implies  the  ruin  of  those  who  receive  not  its 
benefits,  works  the  salvation  of  those  who  receive  it  aright. 

6)  All  these  passages  show  that  baptism  rightly  administered 
is  a  necessary  characteristic  of  the  one  Church. 

12.  Equally  clear  is  it,  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  an  essential 
mark  of  the  true  unity  of  the  Church. 

i)  I  Cor.  11:24,  "this  do  in  remembrance  of  me",  that  is  in 
commemoration  of  me.  That  cannot  be  Christ's  one  Church 
which  does  not  do  in  commemoration  of  Him  what  He  commands 
to  be  done.  The  Lord's  Supper  is  no  temporary  mark  of  the 
Church,  but  is  to  abide  to  the  end  of  time,  "till  He  come",  i  Cor. 
11:26. 

2)  The  whole  argument  of  i  Cor.  11:20-29  is  designed  to 
show  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  to  partake  aright  of  this 
Holy  Sacrament. 

3)  No  part  of  the  Church  Catholic  ever  doubted  the  permanent 
obligation  of  the  Holy  Supper. 

4)  Just  in  proportion  as  the  love  of  the  Church  to  her  Lord 
was  fervent  and  her  devotion  pure,  was  the  frequent  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  In  the  Early  Church,  and  in  the  first  glow  of 
love  and   devotion   in   the  days   of   the   Reformation,  the  Lord's 


50  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

Supper   was   a  constituent   element  of   every  chief  service  on  the 
Lord's  Day. 

5)  Our  chief  service  in  the  "Church  Book",  modeled  as  it  is 
upon  the  ancient  services  of  our  Church,  and  of  the  Church 
Catholic,  implies  the  communion  as  an  integral  part  of  the 
Morning  Service,  and  without  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  it  is,  at  best,  but  a  beautiful  fragment. 

13.  The  Sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
however,  are  not  simply  to  be  retained  in  some  shape,  but  in  order 
to  be  marks  of  the  Church,  they  are  to  be  rightly  administered 
(see  3  above). 

14.  In  a  right  administration  of  a  Sacrament  tzuo  things  are 
involved : 

i)  The  right  elements  conformably  to  the  commands  of  the 
Gospel,  shall  be  used, — in  Baptism,  water;  in  the  Lord's  Supper, 
bread  and  wine.  Baptism  is  not  to  be  administered  with  wine  or 
sand,  or  any  other  thing  except  water;  the  Lord's  Supper  is  not  to 
be  administered  with  water,  or  infusions  of  fruits,  whether  called 
wine  or  not,  but  that  which  alone  is  true  wine,  namely  the  product 
of  the  fruit  of  the  vine. 

2)  The  appointed  Word  is  to  be  used,  Christ's  own  words  of 
institution  being  the  guide  in  both  cases.  They  are  to  be  used, 
not  in  a  mere  repetition  of  the  history  of  what  He  said,  but  in 
His  name  and  by  His  authority,  and  thus  used  they  consecrate. 
If  in  Baptism  the  administrator  says  in  the  place  of  the  divine 
words,  "I  baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Creator,  the  Redeemer 
and  the  Sanctifier",  there  is  no  baptism.  If  in  the  Lord's  Supper 
the  administrator  ignores  the  divine  words,  and  in  place  of  them 
says,  "This  bread  is  a  symbol  of  Christ's  body",  there  is  no 
Supper  of  the  Lord.  You  can  no  more  make  a  divine  sacrament 
with  human  words,  than  you  can  make  a  golden  goblet  out  of  lead. 

15.  The  organic  center  of  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  her 
faith. 

i)     One  faith,  not  two  faiths,  still  less  many  faiths. 

2)  Where  there  are  two  divisions  in  the  form  of  distinct 
churches  or  denominations,  they  either  make  a  question  of  faith 
out  of  what  is  not  such,  or  one  or  the  other  is  wrong,  (if  indeed 
both  be  not  wrong),  and  so  far  as  either  is  wrong,  it  is  relatively 
out  of  the  unity  of  the  Church. 

3)  There  cannot  be  two  conflicting  divisions  in  the  Church 
unless  there  is  schism  or  heresy  somewhere. 

4)  It  is  not  primarily  practice  that  is  involved,  nor  discipline, 
but  the  "doctrine  of  the  Gospel". 

5)  By  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  is  meant  the  inmost  truth 
which  connects  itself  with  the  person,  office,  and  world-redeeming 
work  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  our  participation  in  the 
blessings  of  them,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  living  faith,  by 
means  of  the  pure  Word  and  Sacraments. 

16.  The  Ang5;hnrgr^-rnnfp<^^ir|||_^^Arf^  VTT  \  carefully,  in  most 
exact  language,  definf;'^^  what  is  necessary  to  the  true  unity  of  the 
Church.  ^ i»^,    .,. 

i)     The   Confessors  speak  of  a  true  unity,  not  of  a  spurious, 


LECTURE  ON  ART.  VII.  OF  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.    51 

specious,  and  illusive  unity,  but  of  a  real,  scriptural,  internal,  and 
true  unity, 

2)  The  expression  "it  is  enough",  "it  is  sufficient"  "to  agree", 
etc. ,  is  very  suggestive.  There  are  many  things  that  grace  a  real 
unity,  that  naturally  and  almost  inevitably  follow  from  it,  but 
which  yet  are  not  an  essential  part  of  it,  e.  g. ,  that  the  Church  has 
one  common  government,  that  individual  congregations  represent 
themselves  in  one  general  body,  that  they  sustain  each  other's  • 
discipline,  that  they  have  one  common  order  of  Worship,  etc., — 
but  these  things,  beautiful  and  desirable  as  they  are,  are  not  the 
essentials  of  unity.  They  might  exist  where  there  is  no  unity,  and 
unity  might  exist  without  them. 

3)  The  Confessors  are  very  careful  in  the  use  of  terms. 
They  speak  of  tinity,  not  uniformity. 

4)  They  are  not  satisfied  with  defining  true  tim'ty,  positively, 
but  they  characterize  it  also  negatively,  over  against  false  unity. 
"It  is  not  necessary  that  human  traditions,  rites,  or  ceremonies, 
instituted  by  men,  should  be  everywhere  alike. ' ' 

17.  This  negative  statement  was  aimed  primarily  at  the 
false  theories  and  practices  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Let  us  first 
consider  Huma^i  Traditions. 

i)  Traditions  are  either  good,  or  bad,  or  indifferent, — or 
they  may  be  indifferent  or  good  in  themselves  and  yet  be  abused 
so  as  to  be  incidentally  bad. 

2)  Now  the  observance  of  any  of  these  traditions  is  not 
necessary  to  that  true  internal  unity  of  which  the  Confession 
speaks. 

3)  The  bad  tend  to  destroy  it;  the  indifferent,  in  due  bounds, 
effect  very  little,  out  of  due  bounds,  they  mar  the  unity;  the  good 
grace  it,  may  even  aid  and  promote  it,  but  they  are  not  essential 
to  it — the  unity  existed  before  them,  it  would  exist  were  all  the 
good  traditions  swept  away. 

4)  The  essence  of  unity  is  purely  a  thing  of  God  and  exists 
apart  from  all  human  traditions  of  whatever  kind. 

18.  Let  us  also  consider  Human  Rites  and  Ceremonies. 

i)  Rites  are  either  human "or^HTviner^itTs  of  the'Tormer  the 
Confession  speaks.  The  divine  rites,  especially  of  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper,  are  essential  to  the  true  unity  of  the  Church, 
but  the  hnynayi  rites  are  not. 

2)  Like  the  human  traditions  on  which  they  rest,  the  rites  or 
ceremonies  instituted  by  men  are  either  bad,  indifferent,  or  good. 

3)  In  our  day  much  is  said  about  Ritualism,  often  in  ignor- 
ance of  what  Ritualism  is. 

4)  If  Ritualism  means  the  observance  of  due  rites,  then  all 
the  Christians  except  the  Friends  are  Ritualists  in  principle,  and 
even  the  Friends  are  in  their  very  unritualism  most  tenaciously 
ritualistic.     They  make  a  stringent  rite  of  the  absence  of  Ritualism. 

5)  It  is  therefore  not  a  question  whether  due  rites  shall  be 
observed,  but  what  are  due  rites. 

6)  By  Ritualism  is  now  generally  meant  an  undue  observance 
of  rites  either  in  kind  or  in  extent. 

7)  The   use   of   a   prescribed   service  or    form    of  common 


52  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

prayer  is  not  Ritualism  in  this  unfavorable  sense.  Such  a  service 
was  used  in  the  O.  T.  times,  as  well  as  in  the  N.  T.  times,  and  in 
the  Ancient  Church. 

8)  The  fixed  forms  of  Worship,  now  in  use  in  the  Lutheran 
Church,  in  most  of  its  elements  originated  near  the  Apostolic 
Times,  probably  under  the  direction  of  the  disciples  of  the  Apostles 
themselves. 

g)  All  the  original  Reformers  of  every  school,  Calvin  and 
Zwingle  being  no  exceptions,  used  and  in  many  cases  prepared 
forms  of  service. 

ig.     Ritualism  exists  in  an  unfavorable  sense: 

i)  WhecTf ites-arefused  whicin3~fRemselves  are  superstitious, 
e.  g.,  the  adoration  of  the  bread  and  the  wine  in  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Rome  gives  to  bread  and  wine  the  worship  due  to  the 
Creator.  The  Roman  Catholic  does  not  mean  idolatry.  Granting 
his  theory  of  transubstantiation  he  is  not  an  idolator,  but  if  his 
theory  be  wrong,  his  worship  is  idolatry. 

2)  When  rites  in  themselves  indifferent  or  innocent  are  used 
for  the  purpose  of  setting  forth  false  doctrine,  a)  The  sign  or 
figure  of  the  cross  is  in  itself  a  mere  memorial,  whether  it  is  a 
stamp  on  a  book,  or  an  emblem  on  a  seal,  whether  it  be  fixed  on 
a  church,  or  signed  on  the  forehead  of  a  child,  or  made  with  the 
hand  in  the  air,  and  so  understood,  the  sign  is  in  itself  innocent, 
useful,  and  suggestive.  But  when  to  the  superstitious  certain 
virtue  is  supposed  to  be  connected  with  the  sign,  then  the  use  of 
it  is  idolatrous,  b)  Statuary  and  painting,  innocent  in  them- 
selves, may  be  abused  for  the  purpose  of  saint  worship,  and  thus 
become  pernicious,  c)  Even  the  brazen  serpent  made  by  God's 
command,  when  it  became  the  object  of  idolatrous  worship, 
received  a  contemptuous  name  and  was  broken  to  pieces  (2  Kings 
18:4).  d)  The  mere  abuse  to  superstition  does  not,  however, 
take  away  the  right  use, — (the  sun  has  been  worshipped,  the  Bible 
has  been  used  in  fortune-telling,  the  Lord's  Prayer  has  been 
employed  in  witchcraft,  the  elements  of  the  Lord's  Supper  have 
been  carried  away  for  sorcery),  e)  When  the  use  may  easily  lead 
to  the  abuse,  the  simplest  way  to  correct  the  evil  is  to  abandon 
the  thing  altogether. 

3)  When  rites  and  ceremonies  in  themselves  good,  or  even 
divine,  are  used  in  excess,  a)  The  use  of  the  Kyrie  is  good,  but 
to  employ  it  nine  times  in  succession  (as  Rome  does),  is  in  excess; 
h)  to  use  the  Apostles'  Creed  or  the  Lord's  prayer  ten  times  in  one 
service  is  ritualistic  excess;  c)  to  use  too  many  hymns,  or  an 
excessive  amount  of  a  particular  hymn  (^some  of  the  old  hymns 
have  twenty  to  fifty  stanzas)  is  ritualistic;  d)  sermons  too  long,  and 
prayers  too  long,  tend  to  ritualistic  excess. 

4)  The  spirit  of  ritualism  may  exist  in  the  form  of  violent 
anti-ritualism,  a)  This  is  the  case  whenever  rites  in  themselves 
innocent  are  opposed,  not  on  the  ground  of  abuse,  or  of  excess,  but 
as  if  they  were  matters  in  the  sphere  of  conscience,  and  not  the 
subject  of  Christian  liberty;  h)  How  much  excitement  is  produced 
by  a  few  Churches  going  to  ritualistic  extremes,  but  not  one  word 
of  reprobation  for  the  carelessness  and  indecency  of  the  opposite 


LECTURE  ON  ART.  VII.  OF  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.   53 

extreme;  c)  There  is  a  popery  of  Romanism,  and  there  is  a 
popery  of  ultra-Protestantism;  d)  The  greatest  danger  in  this  coun- 
try lies  in  ultra-Protestantism. 

20.  Over  against  Romish  errors  about  unity  in  rites  and 
ceremonies,  instituted  by  man,  the  whole  Lutheran  Reforma- 
tion is  a  long  protest. 

21.  Not  only  does  the  Lutheran  Church  attest  that  she  has 
no  compromise  with  Rome  in  her  errors,  but  equally  clear  is  her 
testimony  that  she  has  no  sympathy  with  the  ultraism  and  extrava- 
gance of  sectarianism. 

22.  All  our  real  difficulties  in  the  so-called  Protestant 
Evangelical  Churches  as  to  unity  are  derived  from  one  source; 
there  is  somewhere  and  in  some  respects,  on  the  part  of  some,  a 
lack  of  the  one  faith. 

23.  The  one  faith  is  the  organic  center  of  the  Church. 

i)  The  Word  of  God  reveals  one  system  of  doctrine.  Hence 
no  co-ordinate  conflicting  systems  can  be  allowed  as  of  equal 
validity  in  the  Church. 

2)  This  one  system  of  doctrine  is  ascertainable.  Our  Prot- 
estant principle  is  that  the  Holy  Scripture  is  clear  in  all  articles 
of  Faith. 

3)  The  various  denominations  claim  to  have  ascertained  that 
system  of  doctrine,  and  they  account  for  the  defects  in  the  views 
of  others,  not  by  the  -want  of  clearness  in  the  revelation,  but  by 
the  blindness  and  infirmity  of  man. 

4)  On  our  common  admission  they  and  we  are  responsible 
for  the  attaining  of  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Gospel. 

5)  False  doctrine,  whether  regarded  as  heresy  in  the  sense 
of  a  deviation  from  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  or  heresy  considered 
as  a  schismatic  division  apart  from  the  ground  of  faith,  is  treated 
in  Scripture,  not  as  a  misfortune,  but  as  a  crime,  a  work  of  the 
flesh. 

6)  The  various  Protestant  denominations  do  not  have  a 
unity  of  faith,  and  yet  the  Scriptures  declare  that  unity  is  an 
essential  element  of  the  Church. 

7)  We  dare  not  say,  though  we  need  it  and  have  it  not,  yet 
as  we  cannot  get  it,  that  we  must  do  the  best  we  can  without,  and 
cover  the  chasm  with  charity.  This  will  only  increase  a  hopeless 
schism  in  the  name  of  charity. 

24.  The  first  thing  necessary  to  bring  about  unity  of  doctrine 
is  the  most  thorough  honesty  and  clearness  in  the  statement  of 
doctrine. 

i)  No  real  harmony  can  be  brought  about  by  mere  acqui- 
escence in  forms  of  words,  which  are  indeed  accepted  by  different 
parties,  but  in  different  senses. 

2)  Nothing  is  gained  by  assuming  and  insisting  that  differ- 
ences are  not  real,  when  they  are  real. 

25.  To  seek  for  the  truth  and  to  recognize  the  truth  when 
found,  is  the  only  way  to  bring  about  unity. 

i)  These  two  tendencies,  indifference  to  truth  and  a  charity 
which  aims  at  unity  without  the  one  faith,  are  doing  infinite  mis- 
chief throughout  our  whole  land. 


\ 


54  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

2)  These  tendencies  cannot  permanently  co-exist  with  strong 
convictions,  and  are  largely  the  cause  of  the  destructive  negative 
movements  of  the  day. 

3)  Rationalism  and  infidelity  in  general  are  the  offspring  of 
the  indifferentism  and  unionism  of  the  day, — of  the  concealments, 
ambiguities,  and  trifling  with  truth. 

VI.      The  Teaching  of  our  Older  Dogmaticians. 

96.  The  Teaching  of  Luther. 

1.  As  early  as  15 19  Luther  maintained  at  Leipsic,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  authority  of  the  Pope  and  the  Church  of  Rome  "that 
there  is  one  holy  Church  universal  v/hich  is  the  whole  body  of 
the  predestined;"  later,  however,  he  maintained  more  correctly, 
that  the  Church  is  "the  communion  of  saints."  See  especially 
the   "Large  Catechism,"  already  referred  to  in  93  above. 

2.  The  Church  is,  according  to  Luther,  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  "the  congregation  {genieine)  of  the  Saints."  It  exists 
and  can  exist  only  where  the  gospel  is  preached  and  the  sacra- 
ments rightly  administered.  By  these,  as  by  outward  signs,  the 
Christian  congregation  is  recognized.  "Wherever  the  Gospel  is, 
there  must  also  be  a  holy  Christian  Church." 

3.  This  Church  as  the  community  of  existing  believers  pos- 
sess and  dispenses  the  means  of  grace,  and  stands  related  to  the 
individual  believer  as  his  mother.  It  conceives,  bears,  and  trains 
up  an  innumerable  host  of  children  through  the  Gospel  and  the 
Holy  Spirit.  To  this  community  of  believers  or  the  Church  we 
must  go  to  secure  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 

4.  Not  all  the  baptized  truly  remain  members  of  the 
Church.  When  any  one  becomes  an  impenitent  sinner  and  an 
enemy  of  the  truth,  he  is  no  longer  a  true  member  of  the  Church, 
but  only  in  name. 

5.  The  Church  is  in  her  essence  principally  invisible,  inas- 
much as  it  involves  an  article  of  faith.  Luther  says:  "Is  the 
article  true,  'I  believe  in  a  holy  Christian  Church?'  then  it  fol- 
lows that  no  one  can  sec  or  feel  the  Holy  Christian  Church;  no 
one  consequently  can  say,  Lo,  here  it  is,  or  there  it  is,  for  what 
we  believe  is  not  an  object  of  sight  or  sense,  perception;  and 
again,  what  a  man  sees  or  perceives,  that  he  does  not  believe." 

97.  As  at  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  it  was  necessary 
to  give  prominence  to  the  nivi'sible  essence  of  the  Church  over 
against  the  sensiousness  of  the  Roman  Catholic  conception,  so  at 
a  later  period,  in  opposition  to  the  Donatistic  and  fanatical  errors 
of  the  Anabaptists,  it  was  necessary  to  give  prominence  to  the 
visibility  of  the  Church  in  her  outward  manifestation,  as  seen  in 
the  statement  of  Melanchthon. 

98.  Melanchthon  in  his  "Loci"  of  1535,  and  yet  more  in 
1543,  gives  special  prominence  to  the  truth  that  the  Church  is  in 
some  sense  visible,  and  that  we  are  not  to  dream  that  the  elect 
are  anywhere  but  in  this  visible  Church.  In  this  aspect  he 
defines  the  Church,  not  as  "the  communion  of  Saints,"  but  as 
"the   assembly   of  the    called."     "As  often  as   we  think  of   the 


TEACHING   OF   OLDER    LUTHERAN   DOGMATICIANS.  55 

Church,  we  contemplate  an  assembly  of  the  called,  which  is  the 
visible  Church,  nor  are  we  to  dream  that  any  of  the  elect  are 
elsewhere  than  in  this  visible  assembly. . .  .The  visible  Church  is 
the  assembly  of  those  v/ho  embrace  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and 
rightly  use  the  Sacraments,  in  which  Church  God,  through  the 
ministry  of  the  Gospel,  is  efficacious  and  regenerates  many  unto 
eternal  life." 

99.  The  definition  of  the  Church  given  by  our  older  Luth- 
eran Dogmaticians. 

1.  Chemnitz  {d.  1586)  lays  stress  upon  the  visibility  of  the 
Church.  He  says:  "It  ought  to  be  known  to  us,  and  for  this 
reason  it  is  defined  to  be  the  visible  assembly  of  those  who 
embrace  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

2.  "When  the  controversy  with  Rome  became  more  pressing, 
our  Dogmaticians  bring  more  into  relief  the  invisible  Church,  and 
allow  the  element  of  its  essential  visibleness  to  fall  into  the  back- 
ground. 

3.  Hutter  {d.  1616)  says:  "The  visible  Church  is  the  assem- 
bly of  the  called  {z.  e.,  the  Church  in  the  wide  sense^^  improperly 
so-called);  the  invisible  Church  is  the  whole  assembly  of  true 
believers  and  saints  {z.  e.,  the  Church  strictly  and  properly 
so-called)."  The  former  is  called  the  Church  only  "by  synec- 
doche— that  is  attributed  to  the  whole,  made  up  of  good  and 
bad,  which  strictly  belongs  only  to  a  part." 

4.  There  are  not  two  churches,  but  only  two  sides  of  the 
same  Church.  The  true  visible  Church  is  one  with  the  true 
invisible  Church. 

5.  Gerhard  {d.  1637)  says:  "We  by  no  means  introduce 
two  Churches  opposed  one  to  the  other,  but  we  say  that  one 
and  the  same  Church,  is  in  diverse  respects,  both  visible  and 
invisible." 

6.  Of  the  three  expressions,  "Assembly  of  the  called,"  "Con 
gregation  of  Saints,"  "Congregation  of  the  elect,"  it  best  to  use 
the  second  as  the  true  definition  of  the  Church. 

i)  The  Church  is  "the  congregation  of  saints  who  truly 
believe  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and  have  the  Holy  Ghost" 
(Apology  IV,  28). 

2)  "It  is  preferable  to  define  the  Church  as  the  congregation 
of  saints  and  true  believers,  than  of  the  elect"  {Gerhard). 

7.  Quenstedt  [d.  1688)  gives  the  Scriptural  proof  that  the 
Church  is  "the  congregation  of  saints"  (quoted  by  Schmid): 

"i)  The  Church  is  called  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  (Rom. 
12:5;   I  Cor.  10:17;    12:27;  Eph.  1:23;  Col.    1:18); 

"2)  The  Church  is  the  mother  of  true  believers  (Gal.  4:26), 
of  the  Sons  of  God  (John  1:12;  3:6),  who  are  led  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  (Rom.  8:14),  and  are  the  heirs  of  Christ  (Rom.  8:17); 

"3)     The  Church  is  Christ's  fold  (John  10:1,  27,  28); 

"4)  Prophets  and  apostles  frequently  ascribe  such  praises  to 
the  Church  as  cannot  be  referred  to  the  entire  assembly  of  the 
called,  which  embraces  good  and  evil,  wheat  and  tares  (Matt. 
13-25),  good  and  bad  fish,  sheep  and  goats  (Matt.  3:12;  13:47,  49; 
John  10:1).     Therefore  that   must  be  termed  the  Church,  prop- 


56  ECCLESIOLOGIA, 

erly   and  accurately  so  called,  to  which   these  praises  and  attri- 
butes mainly  and  immediately  belong." 

lOO.  The  Sciejitific  Presentatio7i  of  our  older  Lutheran 
Dogmaticia7is. 

1.  The  Attributes  of  the  Church  pertain  strictly  only  to  the 
Church  properly  so-called — to  the  invisible  Church.  They  belong 
to  the  visible  Church  only  by  symecdoche,  attributing  to  it  what 
belongs  only  to  a  part. 

2.  The  Church  is  mt'h'tant  and  trhimf'ha?2t.  "The  Church 
is  called  militajit,  because  under  the  standard  of  Christ  it  fights 
throughout  this  life  against  i)  the  devil,  Eph.  6:io,  ii;  i  Pet. 
5:8,  9;  2)  the  world,  i  John  5:4;  3)  and  the  flesh,  Rom.  7:14;  Gal. 
5:17."  {Gerhard.)  With  respect  to  the  life  to  come  the  Church  is 
called  triumphant,  because  "being  transferred  to  heavenly  rest, 
she  is  liberated  from  the  labor  and  the  toil  of  conflict  and  the  dan- 
ger of  defeat"  (Rev.  2:10;  4:4;  7:9).  {Gerhard.)  The  Church  as 
a  whole  will  not  be  finally  triumphant  until  the  end  of  the  world. 

3.  The  Church  is  said  to  be  i)  one  a7id  imdivided,  because 
there  is  only  ojie  Head,  even  Christ,  to  whom  all  are  united, 
and  only  07ie  faith  through  which  they  can  be  saved;  2)  one  aiid 
no  more,  inasmuch  as  the  Church  universal  is  the  assembly  of  all 
believei-s  united  by  faith  to  Christ,  as  the  Head;  and  because  this 
Church,  from  its  first  beginning,  has  continued  by  a  constant  suc- 
cession of  believers  to  the  present  time,  and  will  always  continue 
until  the  end  of  time  (After  Hollaz). 

4.  "The  Church  is  said  to  be  holy,  i)  because  Christ,  its 
Head,  is  holy  (Heb.  7:26),  who  makes  the  Church  partaker  of  His 
holiness  (John  17:19);  2)  because  it  is  called  by  a  holy  calling  and 
separated  from  the  world  (2  Tim.  1:9);  3)  because  the  Word  of 
God,  committed  to  it,  is  holy  (Rom.  3:2);  4)  because  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  this  assembly  sanctifies  believers  by  applying  to  them, 
through  faith,  Christ's  holiness,  working  inner  renewal  and  holi- 
ness in  their  hearts,  and  awakening  in  them  the  desire  of  perfect 
holiness"  (C^-r/za re?  quoted  in  Schinid). 

5.  The  Church  is  called  Catholic  or  Universal  i)  vuith 
respect  to  its  frofierties,  because  of  its  doctrine  and  faith,  in  so 
far  as  it  professes  the  faith  that  the  whole  body  of  believers  has  at 
all  times  professed;  2)  zvith  respect  to  its  extetit,  because  of  its 
being  spread  over  the  entire  globe;  3)  zvith  respect  to  its  aim,  for 
the  doctrine  and  faith  it  professes  is  for  all  men,  and  has  been 
entrusted  to  the  Church,  that  the  Gospel  might  be  preached  for 
the  salvation  of  all  (After  Hollaz). 

6.  "The  Church  is  called  Apostolic,  partly  because  it  was 
planted  by  the  Apostles,  and  partly  because  it  has  embraced  and 
been  built  upon  the  doctrine  handed  down  by  the  Apostles,  'being 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  prophets'  "  {Hollaz 
quoted  in  Schmid). 

7.  It  is  only  of  the  invisible  Church  that  the  proposition 
holds  good,  extra  ecclesiatn  mdla  salus,  "Out  of  the  Church  is  no 
Salvation".  This  is  but  another  way  of  saying,  "No  one  will  be 
saved  who  does  not  believe".  Gerhard  says:  "It  is  necessary  for 
every  one  of  those  who  are  to  be  saved  to  be  a  living  member  and 


TEACHING  OF  OLDER  LUTHERAN   DOGMATICIANS.         57 

true  citizen  of  the  Universal  (Catholic  or  Christian)  a7id  Apos- 
tolic Church;  and  those  who  are  outside  of  the  Church  are,  nec- 
essarily, aliens  from  God,  from  Christ,  from  the  benefits  of  the 
heavenly  Kingdom,  and  the  hope  of  eternal  salvation.  This  is 
proved  i)  by  Eph.  2:12,  13;  4:16;  5:8;  i  Pet.  2:9;  Rev.  22:15; 
21:8;  2)  by  the  peculiar  benefits  conferred  by  the  Church,  such  as 
regeneration,  renewal  etc. ;  for  since  these  have  no  place  outside 
of  the  Church,  there  also  cannot  be  salvation  outside  of  the 
Church."     (Quoted  by  5<:/^;w^■c?.) 

8.  Our  Dogmaticians  also  distinguish  between  the  Church 
Universal  and  particular  Churches.  After  Quenstedt  we  may 
make  the  following  distinctions  (Quoted  in  Schmid)  : 

i)  The  Church  is  said  to  be  Universal,  i)  with  respect  to 
place,  and  2)  with  respect  to  time. 

2)  The  Church  Universal,  considered  absolutely,  or  with 
respect  to  both  time  and  place,  is  the  general  assembly  of  true 
believers,  whom  God,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  its  end, 
has  called  and  will  call,  through  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  out  of 
all  peoples  and  nations,  to  the  actual  participation  in  spiritual  and 
heavenly  blessings. 

3)  The  Church  Universal,  considered  relatively,  is  the 
assembly  of  all  true  believers,  who  at  any  one  time,  as  at  the 
present  day,  everywhere  continue  in  one  and  the  same  communion 
of  faith,  grace,  love  and  salvation. 

4)  A  particular  Church  is  an  assembly,  not  of  all,  but  of 
some  believers,  called  in  a  certain  place  to  partake  of  salvation, 
and  persevering  in  inner  spiritual  communion. 

5)  Particular  Churches  are  diverse  in  time  and  place. 

g.  Further  explication  of  what  is  meant  by  a  particular 
Church. 

1)  A  particidar  Church,  pre-eminently  and  properly  such  in 
the  Bible  sense,  is  not  a  denomination,  sect  or  schism,  but  a 
Christian  congregation. 

2)  The  modern  conception  of  particular  Churches  as  denomi- 
nations, diverse  in  doctrines,  organized  on  the  basis  of  that  differ- 
ence, is  wholly  unknown  in  the  New  Testament. 

3)  A  denomination  in  this  sense  would  be  called  in  the  N.  T. 
a  sect  or  schism. 

4)  The  Lutheran  Church  is  not  a  particular  Church  in  this 
sense,  but  only  in  this,  that  she  embraces  in  her  communion  a 
number  of  pure  particular  congregations  in  the  N.  T.  sense,  in  the 
unity  of  a  common  confession  of  the  truth,  and  she  repudiates  the 
idea  that  any  pure  Church  can  be  a  particular  Church  in  the  sense 
of  being  one  of  a  set  of  warring  sects,  equally  legitimate. 

5)  When  we  say  that  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  the  larger 
sense,  is  a  particular  Church,  we  only  mean  that  she  does  not  (as 
Rome  does)  claim  to  contain  all  the  members  of  the  Church 
universal,  but  believes  and  confesses  that  by  the  grace  of  God 
living  believers  are  found  in  all  denominations  of  the  Christian 
Church,  even  perhaps,  in  exceptional  cases,  in  some  of  the  most 
heterodox. 

6)  Even  the  whole  Church  on  earth,  at  any  one  time,  is  not 


58  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

the  toiiversal  Church,  but  only  a  fraction  of  it,  and  in  this  sense 
partictdar,  the  Church  of  a  particular  time  over  against  the 
Church  of  all  times. 

10.  With  reference  to  doctrine  and  confession,  the  visible 
Church  of  the  Called  is  divided  into  the  true  or  fure  Church,  and 
the  false  or  hyipure  Church. 

i)  "The  i)-2ie  or  -pure  CJiurch  is  the  assembly  of  men  in 
which  all  things  necessary  to  be  believed  for  salvation,  and  to  be 
done  for  attaining  holiness  of  life,  are  clearly  taught  from  God's 
Word,  without  the  mixture  of  any  hurtful  errors,  and  the  Sacra- 
ments are  rightly  administered  according  to  the  institution  of 
Christ,  and  thus  spiritual  Sons  of  God  are  begotten,  who,  through 
true  faith,  are  united  to  Christ  the  Head,  and  in  Him  are  made 
one  body"  {HoUaz  in  Schniid). 

2)  ''A  false  or  impure  Church  is  an  assembly  of  men,  in 
which  the  doctrine  of  faith  is  publicly  proclaimed  from  the  Word 
of  God,  with  a  mixture  of  errors  and  corruptions,  and  the  Sacra- 
ments are  indeed  administered,  yet  not  distributed  in  that  manner, 
and  for  that  end,  in  and  for  which  they  were  instituted  by  Christ" 
{Holla z  in  Schynid). 

11.  Further  elucidation  of  the  topic.  (After  Hollaz,  Ger- 
hard, Kraiith.) 

i)  The  falseness  of  a  Church  is  obviously  a  relative  thing; 
one  Church  may  be  much  more  impure  than  another. 

2)  The  purity  of  a  Church  cannot,  in  the  same  sense  as  false- 
ness and  impurity,  be  said  to  be  relative. 

3)  The  relative  purity  of  the  true  Church  can  only  be  rela- 
tive as  regards  that  Church  herself,  in  different  stages  of  the  divine 
development. 

4)  A  pure  or  true  Church  holds  throughout  the  one  faith, 
and  all  pure  churches,  and  even  all  impure  churches,  so  far  as 
they  retain  any  elements  of  purity,  hold  one  and  the  same  faith. 

5)  Churches  cannot  be  one  in  spite  of  difierent  faiths,  but 
only  in  consequence  of,  and  so  far  as  they  are  united  in  holding 
one  faith. 

6)  Salvation  is  possible  to  the  individual  in  some  of  the  false 
or  impure  churches,  because  God's  Word  is  there  and  His  sacra- 
ments are  there;  and  although  both  Word  and  sacraments  may  be 
so  obscured  as  to  make  salvation  difficult  to  any  one,  and  actually 
to  cause  many  to  fall  short  of  it,  still  others  may  be  saved. 

7)  Whenever  Baptism  is  rightly  administered,  though  the 
Word  outside  of  that  Baptism  be  perverted,  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
be  mutilated,  salvation  is  possible  to  some. 

8)  The  marks  of  the  true  and  pure  visible  Church  are  the 
pure  teaching,  especially  by  the  preaching  of  the  Word  of  God 
and  the  legitimate  administration  of  the  Sacraments. 

9)  Under  the  preaching  of  the  Word  is  embraced  all  public 
setting  forth  of  the  doctrine  of  the  faith,  especially  in  an  official 
form,  receiving  general  recognition. 

10)  Whether  the  doctrine  of  a  particular  Church  is  to  be 
considered  pure  or  impure  is  to  be  determined  from  the  symbols 
or  public  confessions  put  forth  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Church, 
or  approved  by  the  whole  Church. 


THE  SYNTHETIC   AND   REPRESENTATIVE   CHURCH.  59 

ii)  This  doctrine  of  a  particular  Church  is  not  to  be  gath- 
ered from  the  opinions  or  writings  of  this  or  that  man,  however 
eminent. 

12)  The  works  of  the  standard  theologians  of  a  Church  are, 
however,  of  great  value  in  the  interpretation  of  the  confessions  of 
the  Church. 

13)  If  we  accept  this  definition  of  the  marks  of  the  Church, 
the  deduction  is  inevitable,  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is 
neither  true  nor  catholic. 

14)  The  Christian  Church  which  adheres  to  the  Augsburg 
Confession  is  a  true  Church  in  a  supreme  and  peculiar  sense  and 
degree.  She  embraces  the  Catholic  doctrine  and  hence  is  in 
quality  Catholic,  although  with  respect  to  amplitude  she  is  not 
the  Catholic  Church,  but  a  particular  Church. 

15)  Dr.  Krauth  {Co7is.  Ref.):  "As  genuine  Lutheranism 
is  most  Biblical  among  systems  which  professedly  ground  them- 
selves on  the  supreme  authority  of  God's  word;  as  it  is  most 
evangelical  among  the  systems  that  magnify  our  Saviour's  grace; 
so  is  our  Church  at  once  most  truly  Catholic  among  all  churches 
which  acknowledge  that  the  faith  of  God's  people  is  one,  and 
most  truly  Protestant  among  all  bodies  claiming  to  be  Protestant. 
She  is  the  mother  of  all  Protestantism.  Her  confession  at  Augs- 
burg is  the  first  official  statement  of  Scriptural  doctrine  and  usage 
ever  issued  against  Romish  heresy  and  corruption.  Her  confes- 
sions are  a  wall  of  adamant  against  Romanism The  anathe- 
mas of  the  Council  of  Trent  are  almost  all  leveled  at  our 
Church." 

12.  A  distinction  is  further  drawn  by  our  Dogmaticians 
between  the  Synthetic  or  Collective  Church  and  the  Representa- 
tive Church. 

i)  Hollaz  says;  "The  Synthetic  Church  is  the  Church  taken 
collectively,  consisting  of  teachers  and  hearers,  joined  by  the  bond 
of  the  same  faith,  and  is  called  the  Collective  Church  in  distinc- 
tion from  the  Representative  Church,  which  is  an  assembly  of 
teachers  solemnly  assembled  to  decide  questions  concerning  the 
doctrine  of  faith  and  Christian  morals"  {Examen,  1266). 

2)  Again:  "The  word  church  in  the  Scriptures  is  sometimes, 
by  synecdoche  (of  the  whole  for  a  part),  used  to  designate  a  con- 
vention of  teachers  and  deputies  of  the  Church,  who  represent 
the  synthetic  Church,  and  whatever  they  do  in  the  public  name 
by  the  power  granted  to  them,  that  is  held  as  ratified  by  the  other 
members  of  the  Church,  and  is  regarded  as  something  to  be  done, 
or  as  having  been  done  by  all.  Thus  the  word  church  is  taken  in 
Matt.  18:17,  where  Christ  says,  'Tell  it  unto  the  Church,' 
meaning  a  representative  assembly  of  the  synthetical  Church, 
whether  in  council,  synod,  or  consistory"  {Examen,  1266). 

3)  Again:  "The  Representative  Church  is  an  assembly  of 
teachers  representing  in  its  own  mode  the  synthetic  Church.  For 
the  Synthetic   Church   is   represented   by  its  ministry  and  by  a 

council,  or  a  synod In  councils  are  assembled  the  teachers  and 

delegates  of  churches  to  whom  has  been  committed  by  the  whole 
communion  of  believers  the   power  of  investigating  and  deciding 


60  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

in  regard  to  the  public  interpretation  of  doctrine  in  doubtful  and 
controverted  points  and  in  regard  to  ceremonies  tending  to  good 
order  in  the  Church,  as  also  the  power  of  correcting  open  sins" 
{Exaynen,  1313). 

4)  Quenstedt:  "The  name  of  i\\Q.  Represejitative  Q?CL\xxQ}ix\s 
given  to  an  assembly  of  religious  teachers  and  deputies  of  the 
Church,  whether  of  all  the  churches  or  singly,  which  assembly 
represents  the  Synthetic  Church  and  offers,  as  it  were,  an  image 
and  compend  of  the  Church.  This  assembly  of  teachers  and 
bishops  is  sometimes  called  a  Council,  or,  after  the  Greek,  a  Synod, 
and  to  distinguish  it  from  civil  conventions  the  term  ecclesias- 
tical is  added.  The  whole  visible  Church  is  represented  in  a  just 
and  legitimate  council,  which  offers,  as  it  were,  an  image  or  com- 
pend of  the  whole  Church." 

5)  Buddeus:  "Both  the  ministry  and  synods  are  sometimes 
called  the  representative  Church,  because  through  them  in  a  cer- 
tain respect  the  Church  is  represented.  For  in  Synods,  where 
the  delegates  of  a  number  of  churches  are  present,  each  one  rep- 
resents that  particular  Church  by  which  he  is  sent.  As  a  matter 
of  course,  when  a  number  of  delegates  are  present  they  take  the 
place  of  many  churches." 

13.  This  representative  character  may  belong  to  smaller 
bodies;  a  congregation  may  represent  itself,  as  it  does  in  its  coun- 
cil; a  few  congregations  may  be  represented  in  a  conference;  a 
large  number  in  a  Synod;  Synods  may  be  represented  in  a  gen- 
eral Synod;  or  the  whole  Lutheran  Church  on  earth  might  be 
represented  in  a  real  oecumenical  council. 

14.  The  Church  ought  to  be  represented  in  Synods  or  Coun- 
cils by  lay  delegates  as  well  as  by  clerical  delegates.  If  she  have 
but  one  class,  she  must  be  represented  by  the  clergy,  inasmuch 
as  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  already  called  of  God  through 
the  Church  to  represent  the  Church. 

15.  The  three  estates  in  the  Church,  the  triple  hierarchical 
order,  embracing  the  ecclesiastical,  the  political,  and  the  domestic 
estate,  will  be  discussed  under  the  office  of  the  ministry. 

VII.      The  Later  Development  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church. 

10 1.     The  later  development  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church. 

1.  This  development  passes  through  the  various  stages  of 
enfeebling  and  dissolution,  and  then  of  restrengthening  and  resto- 
ration, common  to  other  doctrines. 

2.  The  doctrine  of  the  Church,  however,  in  certain  respects 
fails  to  reach  its  old  strength  and  internal  harmony. 

3.  In  contradiction  to  religious  indifference  and  unbelief, 
which  depreciated  the  idea  and  authority  of  the  Church  in  every 
sense,  Spener  {d.  1705)  strove  to  counteract  this  disintegrating 
tendency  by  awakening  the  laity;  but  Pietisms  ought  mainly  to  sat- 
isfy personal  religious  wants,  and  laid  the  main  stress  on  the  small 
religious  communions  within  the  Church.  The  piety  emphasized, 
displayed  itself  in  a  narrow,  legal  character,  somewhat  related  to 
the  Reformed  idea. 

4.  Rationalism  considered  the  Church  as  a  purely  human 


LATER  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  DOCTRINE.       61 

organization,  at  best  only  an  institution  for  the  moral  culture  of  men, 
and  denied  that  Jesus  ever  contemplated  the  formation  of  a  Church. 

5.  Su^ernatuyalism  was  fond  of  speaking  of  virtuous  men, 
not  Christians,  as  members  of  the  invisible  Church,  or  if  it  speaks 
more  correctly  of  the  Church,  it  yet  was  lacking  in  a  proper  con- 
sciousness of  what  the  Church  is. 

6.  Kant  and  his  school  substituted  for  the  Church  natural 
religion  and  moral  fellowship. 

7.  Of  great  influence  was  the  teaching  of  Schleiermacher 
(1768-1834),  who  restored  to  the  Church  much  of  its  significance 
by  giving  to  all  theological  science  a  relation  to  it.  According  to 
him  the  Church  embraces  everything  which  has  been  placed  in 
the  world  through  the  work  of  redemption.  Through  the  Church 
are  revealed  all  the  operations  of  grace  upon  individuals.  It  is 
itself  a  communion  of  the  regenerated  revivified  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Inasmuch  as  the  Church  cannot  shape  itself  out  of  the 
world  without  having  an  influence  exercised  upon  it  by  the 
world, — it  comes  to  pass  that  the  Church  establishes  for  itself  a 
distinction  between  the  visible  and  the  invisible  Church. 

8.  According  to  the  philosopher  Hegel  (1770-1831),  the 
State  is  the  actualizing  of  the  moral  idea.  If  this  idea  were 
attained  the  Church  would  no  longer  have  a  right  to  individual 
existence. 

9.  Rothe  (1790-1867),  occupies  a  position  midway  between 
Schleiermacher  and  Hegel  He  held,  that  in  the  true  moral 
development,  civil  society  is  in  itself  a  religious  community.  It  is 
the  vocation  of  the  Church  to  infuse  itself  more  and  more  into 
the  State,  and  as  the  State  becomes  perfect  the  Church  disap- 
pears in  proportion.  This  gradual  solution  of  the  Church  in  the 
State  can  take  place  only  by  the  State  becoming  a  religious 
body,  a  kingdom  of  God.  Rothe  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Episcopate,  as  a  necessary  substitute  for  the  Apostolate,  in 
maintaining  and  promoting  unity,  reaches  back  even  to  the  days 
of  St.  John,  and  thus  has  the  Apostolic  sanction,  and  that  this 
idea  of  the  Church  arose  in  the  first  centuries  by  an  inward 
necessity. 

10.  The  later  development  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church, 
however,  is  steadily  tending  to  a  deeper  consciousness  of  the 
importance  of  the  Church,  and  more  emphasis  is  being  laid  upon 
the  confessions  of  the  Church,  and  its  authority  as  a  divine 
institution. 

11.  Dorner,  though  a  speculative  Theologian,  gives  some 
good  suggestions: 

1.  The  Church  is  called  invisible:  i)  because  its  spiritual 
essence,  as  well  as  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  generally,  is  not 
perceptible  to  sense;  2)  because  it  cannot  be  known  with  certainty 
who  are  among  the  true  believers;  3)  but  it  does  not  mean  that 
the  Chiu-ch  cajinot  he  recognized,  for  the  Church  has  her  marks 
(Word  and  Sacraments)  by  which  we  may  know  that  she  exists 
and  where  she  exists. 

2.  The  Church  is  called  visible:  i)  so  far  as  the  invisible 
Church  has  outward  signs;  for  faith  is  assured  that  where  Word 
and  Sacraments  are  observed,  there  is  the  Church,  for  the  means 


62  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

of  grace  are  not  ineffectual;  3)  because  believers  who  are  members 
of  the  Church  on  earth  are  visible  persons;  3)  because  the  Church 
consists  of  believers  who  hold  communion  with  those  not  yet 
believers  in  order  to  lead  them  to  faith. 

3.  We  can  only  speak  of  the  visibility  and  invisibility  of  one 
and  the  same  Church,  not  of  a  visible  and  invisible  Church,  as  if 
there  were  two  separate  churches. 

4.  This  distinction  of  the  Church  as  visible  and  invisible  has 
great  value  in  its  correct  confessional  statement. 

i)  The  value  is  defensive,  and  a  bulwark  of  pure  Reforma- 
tion doctrine  in  contra-distinction  to  Roman  Catholicism, — for 
union  with  Christ  through  faith  is  the  great  thing  necessary. 

2)  The  value  is  critical  and  polemical,  not  only  with  refer- 
ence to  Donatistic  tendencies  and  Romanism,  but  also  with 
internal  reference, — for  it  keeps  the  consciousness  awake  to  the 
difiference  between  the  essence  of  the  Church  and  its  empirical 
manifestation. 

3)  The  value  is  irenical  and  has  a  Christian  oecumenical 
character.  For  if  communion  with  Christ  by  faith  is  the  chief 
thing,  then  also  those  in  other  churches,  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  vjho  are  ifi  commuyiion  zuitii  Chi'ist,  the  true 
and  living  Head  of  the  Church,  are  His  people.  "Christ  is  not  so 
poor  as  to  have  His  Church  only  in  Sardinia." 

12.  The  Dogmatics  oi  Martensen,  translated  into  English  as 
early  as  1866,  has  left  its  Lutheran  impress  on  the  theology  of 
England.  Though  not  strictly  confessional,  being  speculative  on 
many  points,   the  work  is  always  worthy  of  examination. 

1.  With  Martensen  theyor/^za/ principle  of  Protestantism  is 
"the  Holy  Scriptures  in  their  indissoluble  connection  with  the 
confessing  Church."  The  material  principle  with  him  is  not 
what  is  usually  called  Justification  by  faith,  but  he  would  use 
this  expression  to  denote  "subjective  Christianity,  the  regenerated 
mind,  the  new  creature  in  Christ,  in  whom  the  certainty  of 
Justification  through  Christ,  is  the  center  of  life." 

2.  When  the  m«/'^r/<7/ principle  is  neglected,  and  the  formal 
principle  is  maintained  in  the  form  of  tradition,  we  have  one- 
sided Catholicism;  if  the  formal  principle  be  predominably 
maintained  in  the  form  of  the  Scriptures,  then  this  gives  us  the 
legal  Church,  the  tendency  of  Reformed  Protestantism  and  of 
the  Pietism  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

3.  When  the  m,aterial  principle  is  maintained,  and  the 
formal  principle  sacrificed,  when  the  individual  Christian  severs 
himself  from  all  connection  with  history  and  tradition,  and  lightly 
esteems  the  written  Word,  relying  upon  his  being  born  of  the 
Spirit — then  originate  sects,  based  on  visionariness  and  fanati- 
cism. 

4.  '  'The  Evangelical  Church  appears  in  two  leading  forms, 
the  Lutheran  and  Reformed.  The  Swiss  Reformation  started 
primarily  from  ihe  formal  principle,  that  of  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures;  whereas  the  Lutheran  originated  more  especially  in 
the  material  principle,  in  the  depths  of  the  Christian  conscious- 
ness, in  an  experience  of  sin  and  redemption." 


THEORIES  OF  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT,         63 

5.  "The  Lutheran  Reformation  manifested  the  greatest 
caution  to  tradition,  and  observed  the  principle  of  rejecting 
nothing  that  could  be  reconciled  with  the  Scriptures;  whereas 
the  Swiss  Reformation  introduced  in  many  respects  a  direct  oppo- 
sition between  the  biblical  and  the  ecclesiastical,  and  in  several 
particulars  followed  the  principle  that  all  ecclesiastical  institutions 
should  be  rejected  unless  they  could  be  deduced  from  the  letter 
of  the  Bible." 

6.  The  antithesis  between  the  two  churches  cannot  be  desigA 
nated  by  saying  that  the  Lutheran  Protestantism  is  more  y 
"emotional"  and  Reformed  Protestantism  more  "intellectual,"  but  | 
it  is  better  to  say  "that  the  Reformed  Church,  although! 
vigorously  protesting  against  the  legal  Church  of  Rome,  is  never-/ 
theless  infected  with  a  legal  spirit,  whereas  the  germ  of  the  ful-| 
ness  of  the  Gospel  is  found  in  Lutheranism."  / 

13.  In  recent  views  of  the  Church  it  is  charged  that  there 
have  been  some  tendencies  to  Romanizing  theories. 

i)  Stahl,  the  eminent  jurist,  Vilmar,  Lcehe  and  others  laid 
special  stress  upon  the  Church  as  a  divine  institution  with  divinely 
appointed  outward  ordinances,  realities  distinct  from  the  congre- 
gation and  superior  to  it,  and  emphasized  the  ministerial  ofl5ce  as 
directly  instituted  by  God,  and  maintained  that  the  office  of  the 
ministry  was  given  to  the  Church  as  a  whole. 

2)  These  views  were  opposed  by  the  Erlangen  school  (Hoef- 
ling,  Harless,  Von  Zezschwitz,  Thomasius,  Harnack,  Delitzsch), 
who  emphasized  the  Church  as  the  congregation  of  saints,  and 
maintained  that  the  office  of  the  ministry  rested  in  the  congrega- 
tion rather  than  in  the  Church  as  a  whole. 

3)  These  two  diverse  views  have  been  the  occasion  of  much 
controversy  among  some  of  the  German  Lutheran  Synods  of  this 
country.  The  views  in  general  as  held  by  Stahl  and  Vilmar  were 
favored  by  Grabau  and  his  adherents  (Buffalo  Synod),  and  were 
especially  opposed,  not  without  a  certain  degree  of  extravagance 
of  language  on  some  points,  by  Dr.  Walther  and  the  Missouri 
Synod. 

4)  This  controversy  was  the  direct  cause  of  the  organization 
of  the  German  Iowa  Synod,  for  its  founders  were  men  sent  over 
to  this  country  by  Loehe,  and  when  these  could  neither  adopt  the 
views  of  the  Buffalo  Synod  nor  those  of  the  Missouri  Synod,  they 
began  independent  work  further  West.  The  Iowa  Synod  takes 
the  same  position,  in  general,  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  ministry  as  the  General  Council. 

VIII.      Theories  of  Church  Government. 

102.  Concerning  the  question  of  Church  Government  there 
are  four  leading  views: 

I.  The  Ro7nan  Catholic  view  which  not  only  maintains  the 
divine  origin  and  authority  of  Episcopacy,  but  holds  that  all 
bishops  are  subject  to  the  Pope  of  Rome  as  the  vicar  of  Christ. 

a)  The  Easterii  Church  also  holds  to  the  divine  origin  of 
the   Episcopacy,  to   the   transmission   of  Apostolic   grace,  and  to 


64  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

Apostolic  succession,  but  refuses  to  recognize  the  supreme 
Authority  of  the  Roman  Pontiff. 

b)  The  Jansem'st  Church  of  Holland  and  the  Old  Catholics 
agree  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  on  the  question  of 
Episcopacy,  but  refuse  to  accept  the  Supremacy  of  the  Pope. 

2.  The  ^^igli=^hurch  Episcopal  or  Anglican  theory,  in 
essential  particulars  isthe  gatft&tCs'  the  Roman  Catholic  view,  but 
it  differs  in  this,  that  it  denies  the  authority  of  the  Pope  as  the 
vicar  of  Christ  and  infallible  successor  of  Peter,  and  does  not 
place  ordination  among  the  Sacraments.  It  regards,  however, 
Episcopacy  as  indispensable  to  the  very  being  of  the  Church, 
holds  to  the  transmission  of  the  grace  of  ordination,  and  accepts 
Apostolic  succession.  "Bishops,  as  being  the  successors  of  the 
Apostles  are  possessed  of  the  same  power  of  jurisdiction"  {Blunt). 
"Besides  the  Common  Faith  and  the  Common  Sacraments"  they 
add  a  third  mark  of  the  Church,  "a  continuous  ministry  and 
discipline"  {Norris).  The  Anglican  Church  "clearly  asserts  her 
o-ivn  belief  that  the  threefold  Orders  of  Bishops,  Priests,  and 
Deacons,  are  of  Apostolic  origin  and  authority"  {Xorris). 

a)  Another  view,  known  as  the  Low  or  Broad  Church  view, 
represented  by  such  scholars  as  Lightfoot,  Stanley,  Alford,  Hatch, 
and  others,  regard  the  Episcopacy  as  desirable  and  necessary  for 
the  zi'ell  being  of  the  Church,  but  not  necessary  for  its  existence. 
Their  best  writers  agree  that  the  diocesan  Episcopate  developed 
out  of  the  presbyterate,  and  that  there  are  only  two  orders  of  the 
ministry  in  the  N.  T., — bishop-presbyters  and  deacons. 

b)  The  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  holds  to  an  Episcopacy 
of  expediency.  She  recognizes  but  two  orders  in  the  ministry, — the 
presbyterate  and  the  diaconate.  The  Episcopate  is  not  an  order, 
but  an  ofi&ce, — the  bishop  being  simply  the  first  presbyter. 

c)  The  Methodist  and  Moravian  Episcopacy  is  merely  a 
matter  of  expediency.  The  Moravian  Church  has  the  Apostolical 
succession,  but  lays  no  stress  upon  it.  The  Episcopacy  of  the 
Methodist  Church  is  neither  diocesan,  nor  hierarchical,  but  of  an 
itinerant  and  missionary  character.  They  could  not  lay  claim  to 
Apostolical  Succession,  even  if  they  wanted  to. 

d)  In  the  Lutherari  Church,  bishops  are  not  unknown. 
She  has  them  where  on  the  whole  it  was  thought  best  to  have 
them.  The  Lutheran  Church  regards  the  Episcopate  as  one  form 
of  government,  but  not  necessarily  the  only  form.  She  has  the 
Apostolic  Succession  even  in  the  High  Church  sense  in  Sweden 
and  Norway,  and  she  could  have  held  it  everywhere  had  she  been 
foolish  enough  to  attach  any  importance  to  it.  The  question 
whether  the  Episcopal  government  is  to  be  restored  in  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  general  and  introduced  into  our  Church  in 
this  country  is  purely  a  question  of  expediency  for  the  Lutheran 
Church  herself  or  any  Synod  to  determine.  It  is  not  the  Episco- 
pate in  itself,  but  only  false  views  in  regard  to  its  necessity,  and 
objectionable  features  in  its  administration,  which  are  irreconcil- 
able with  the  principles  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  The  necessary 
features,  supervision,  visitation,  ordination,  have  been  perpetuated 
in  many  countries  in  the  Superintendents.      Their  rights  are  con- 


THEORIES  OF  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT.  85 

stitutionally  assigned  to  Presidents  of  Conferences  and  Sj  nods  in 
this  country. 

3.  The  Presbyterian  Polity  holds  that  Church  govern- 
ment resides  in  the  presbyters  or  elders,  and  that  in  the 
churches  of  the  Apostolic  age  there  were  three  classes  of  minis- 
ters or  office-bearers,  i)  pastors  or  teaching  elders,  2)  ruling 
elders,  and  3)  deacons.  Some  Presbyterians  maintain  that  this 
form  of  government  is  directly  enjoined  in  Scripture  and  Uaerefcre 
Jus  diviniim,  of  divine  right,  while  others  only  hold  the  view  that 
it  is  clearly  sanctioned  by    Scripture. 

i)  It  was  Calvin  who  first  put  into  practical  operation  this 
idea  of  lay-eldership  in  Geneva  (1541).  In  conjunction  with  the 
pastors,  the  lay-elders  have  oversight  of  the  doctrine,  life  and 
walk  of  the  individual  believers  of  the  congregation.  The  deacons 
serve  the  church  in  works  of  love,  especially  toward  the  poor,  the 
sick,  and  the  afflicted.  Preachers,  elders,  and  deacons,  .form  the 
presbytery  of  the  congregation,  whose  vocation  is  to  build  up  the 
congregation. 

2)  This  Presbyterian  Polity  has  spread  over  all  Reformed 
Protestantism  (France,  Great  Britain,  Germany,  America),  and 
has  been  adopted  by  many  Lutheran  churches,  both  in  Germany 
and  in  this  country.  In  fact,  Presbyterianism  in  its  generic  sense,  is 
the  form  of  Church  government  most  generally  adopted  by 
Lutheran  Synods.  The  Reformed  Churches  believe  that  by  this 
form  of  government  they  have  introduced  the  primitive  and 
Apostolic  order,  but  in  this  they  are  mistaken,  for  the  Apostolic 
order  knew  nothing  of  an  eldership  distinct  from  the  ministry 
proper. 

4.  The  fourth  chief  view  is  that  no  form  of  government  was 
instituted  by  Christ  or  His  Apostles,  that  there  was  originally  nO 
distinction  between  clergy  and  laity,  but  that  an  organization! 
took  place  in  due  time,  for  the  sake  of  order  and  expediency. 

i)  Congregationalism  is  an  independent  system  of  church 
government  as  fundamentally  distinct  from  Episcopacy  and  Pres- 
byterianism as  they  are  from  each  other.  There  is  some  differ- 
ence between  the  Congregationalism  of  England  and  that  of  this 
country.  Both  emphasize  the  self-goverjunent  of  local  congrega- 
tions, but  in  American  Congregationalism  more  stress  is  laid  on 
the  duly  of  fellozuship  between  sister  churches.  Dexter  draw* 
the  following  distinction  between  English  and  American  Congre- 
gationalism: "Congregationalism  as  a  system  is  to  be  conceived 
of,  not,  like  Independency,  as  a  circle  all  of  whose  parts  are  tied  to, 
and  evolved  from  a  single  center;  but  rather  as  an  ellipse,  whose 
two  foci,  of  self -completeness  and  equal fellozij  ship,  symmetrically 
control  its  development."  "The  N.  T.  contains  in  express  pre- 
cept, or  in  the  practice  of  the  Apostles  and  primitive  churches,  all 
the  principles  of  church  organization  and  governmentc"  Accord- 
ing to  their  view  democracy  is  the  best  species  of  government,  and 
this  polity  is  suggested  by  Scripture. 

2)  The  Baptists  in  their  form  of  government  are  strictly 
congregatioyial . 

3)  In  the  Lutheran  Church  we  also  fmd  the  congregational 


66  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

form  of  government  represented,  especially  in  the  Synodical  Con- 
ference and  a  few  Independent  Synods.  Where  Synods  have  only 
advisory  power,  and  no  legislative  power,  the  polity  is  mainly 
congregational. 

IX.     Constitution  of  the  Church  in  Apostolic  Times. 

103.  Closely  connected  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  is 
the  science  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity.  We  will  here  discuss  a  few 
points  that  may  be  of  general  interest.  The  discussion  is  largely 
based  upon  the  writings  of  Dr.  Krauth  (whether  published,  as  in 
the  earlier  volumes  of  the  Luthei'an  Church  Reviezv,  or  in 
manuscript)  and  upon  the  standard  work  of  Richter. 

I.  The  object  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity  is  to  present  the  history 
and  science  of  the  administration  of  the  Church  as  a  visible 
organization, — to  exhibit  the  principles  which  regulate  the  govern- 
mental rights,  duties,  powers,  and  limitations  of  the  Church,  as  a 
whole  and  of  each  of   its  parts. 

104.  As  the  basis  for  further  study  let  us  briefly  trace  the 
history  of  the  Co7istitutio7i  of  the  Church  in  Apostolic  Times. 
See  also  63  above. 

1.  The  Apostles  were  missionaries  and  extended  the  Church 
by  organizing  believers  into  congregations. 

2.  An  essential  part  of  the  organization  of  a  congregation  was 
connected  with  the  calling  of  a  Pastor  who  was  to  rule  spiritually 
the  congregation,  conduct  the  public  services,  and  administer  the 
Sacraments. 

3.  A  careful  study  of  all  passages  in  the  N.  T.,  in  which 
the  two  names  occur,  shows  that  the  words  Elder  (Presbyter)  and 
Bishop  diXe  entirely  co-ordinate.  A  N.  T.  bishop  is  an  elder,  and 
a  N.  T.  elder  is  a  bishop.  There  is  no  distinction  among  the 
elders.  In  i  Tim.  5:17  the  emphasis  is  not  on  the  word  rule, 
but  on  the  word  zvell.  There  were  no  ruling  elders  in  contradis- 
tinction to  teaching  elders. 

4.  That  bishops  and  presbyters  were  identical  is  also  shown 
by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  Earliest  Fathers. 

5.  Clement  of  Rome  most  explicitly  teaches: 

i)  That  ministers  of  the  congregation  are  the  successors  of 
the  Apostles. 

2)  That  there  were  but  tzvo  orders  of  workers  in  the 
congregation. 

3)  That  the  Presbyters  and  Bishops  were  absolutely  co-or- 
dinate and  co-incident. 

4)  That  there  is,  beside  the  pastorate,  no  ordinary  office  in 
the  Church  of  Apostolic  appointment,  except  that  of  deacons. 

6.  We  thus  conclude  that  the  bishops  or  presbyters  and  the 
deacons  are  the  sole  officers  of  the  N.  T.  Church. 

7.  There  is  no  warrant  whatever  in  N.  T.  history,  nor  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Church,  for  a/z^s  diz>i?zum  diocesan  episcopacy 
(by  divine  right),  nor  for  a  jus  divinum  lay  presbyterial  office 
(ruling  elder).     See  63  above. 

105.  Let  us  now  take  up  the  question  of  the  Diaconate.  A 
careful  study  of  Acts  6:1-6  shows: 


PRESBYTERS   AND   BISHOPS.  67 

1.  That  the  Tvv^elve  Apostles  are  at  first  the  sole  directors 
and  administrators  of  the  Church  in  spiritual  guidance  and  in 
matters  of  business. 

2.  After  the  Apostleship  the  first  office  established  in  the 
Church  was  the  diaconate. 

3.  The  functions  to  which  deacons  were  elected  were 
functions  which  had  been  exercised  by  the  Apostles;  hence  the 
duties  of  the  deacon  were  not  lay-duties,  but  official  and  ministerial 
in  the  wide  sense  of  the  word. 

4.  They  were  chosen  as  aids  to  the  Apostles  to  take  a  less 
difficult  and  less  important  part  of  the  work,  and  the  true  con- 
ception of  the  office  of  deacon  is  that  he  is  the  minister's  aid. 

5.  The  Apostles  suggested  the  creation  of  the  new  office. 

6.  The  persons  chosen  were  elected  by  popular  vote. 

7.  They  were  ordained  by  the  Twelve  with  imposition  of 
hands. 

8.  The  Twelve  now  devoted  themselves  without  interruption 
to  prayer  and  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

9.  The  deacons  had  larger  functions  than  those  which  would 
be  naturally  assigned  them  now  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  on  the 
current  misconception  of  the  nature  of  this  office. 

10.  This  diaconate  was  the  same  as  the  later  diaconate  men- 
tioned in  the  N.  T. 

i)     They  were  permanent  officials  in  the  church. 

2)  They  were  not  the  same  as  the  presbyters. 

3)  Nor  did  the  seven  branch  out  into  two  orders,  the  diaco- 
nate and  the  presbyterate. 

11.  This  office  of  the  diaconate  was  entirely  new. 

i)     It  was  not  a  continuation  of  the  order  of  Levites. 

2)  Nor  the  adaptation  of  an  office  in  the  synagogue. 

3)  Not  of  the  Chazan  or  attendant,  who  took  care  of  the 
building  and  the  preparation  for  the  services  of  the  synagogue. 

12.  The  principal  work  assigned  to  the  deacons  was  the 
relief  of  the  poor. 

13.  Teaching  was  only  incidental  to  their  office,  as  in  the  case 
of  Philip  and  Stephen. 

14.  All  the  qualifications  emphasized  by  St.  Paul  (i  Tim. 
3:8-13)  are  such  as  are  especially  necessary  in  going  from  house  to 
house,  entrusted  with  the  distribution  of  alms. 

15.  The  office  spread  from  the  Mother  Church  at  Jerusalem 
into  all  the  Churches. 

16.  The  strict  seclusion  of  the  female  sex  required  also 
a  female  diaconate  (Rom.  16:1).  The  qualifications  are  given  in 
I  Tim.  3:11. 

17.  The  deacons  take  rank  after  the  presbyters  or  bishops. 
106.     Bishops  and  Presbyters.     See  also  63  above. 

1.  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  in  the  N.  T.  hisho-p  and  elder 
are  titles  of  the  same  office,  and  that  consequently  in  the  first 
period  several  bishops  belonged  to  a  single  congregation. 

2.  The  office  of  presbyter  or  elder  takes  its  name  and  origin 
from  the  synagogue. 

3.  A  body  of  elders  looked  after  the  government  of  the 
synagogue. 


68  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

4.  After  the  persecution  of  44  A.  D.,  on  the  dispersion  of  the 
Twelve,  the  same  government  by  elders  was  provided  for  the 
Mother  Church  (Acts  11:30). 

5.  Paul  and  Barnabas  appointed  elders  in  every  church 
founded  by  them  (Acts  14:23). 

6.  The  word  bishop  designates  the  same  office,  but  has  its 
origin  among  the  Greek  or  Hellenic  Christian  Gentiles. 

7.  The  duties  of  the  Presbyters  or  Bishops  were  twofold: 

1.  Oversight  or  government. 

2.  Teaching,     i  Tim.  3:2;  Tit.  i:g. 

8.  In  Eph.  4:11  the  expression  "pastors  and  teachers" 
describes  the  same  office  under  two  aspects. 

g.  The  Apostles  were  not  bishops,  for  like  the  prophets  and 
evangelists  they  held  no  local  ofhce. 

107.  In  the  N.  T.  we  may  trace  two  stages  of  the  develop- 
ment of  Church  Government  in  the  Gentile  Churches: 

1.  Occasional  supervision  by  the  Apostles  themselves,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  offender  at  Corinth  (i  Cor.  5:3  ,  4). 

2.  The  Apostles  delegated  their  power  to  others,  but  not 
permanently,  as  in  the  case  of  Timothy  at  Ephesus  (i  Tim.  1:3; 
3:14;  2  Tim.  4:9,  21),  and  of  Titus  at  Crete  (Tit.  1:5;  3:12). 

3.  We  have  no  fuller  development  in  the  N.  T.  The  angels 
of  the  seven,  churches  are  no  exception,  for  these  angels  evidently 
are  congregational  bishops  or  pastors  presiding  over  these 
churches. 

4.  At  the  close  of  the  Apostolic  age  there  was  no  trace  of  the 
diocesan  Episcopate. 

X.      The  Developme7it  of  the  Episcopal  Hierarchy. 

108.  The  development  of  the  diocesan  Episcopate  was 
gradual,  and  as  follows: 

1.  The  Presbyter-bishop,  and  several  bishops  belonged  to  a 
single  congregation. 

2.  Then,  even  as  early  as  100  A.  D.  (in  the  writings  of 
Ignatius),  the  07ie  bishop  in  each  congregation,  with  presbyters 
and  deacons,  known  as  the  Congregational  Episcopate,  a  develop- 
ment out  of  the  presbyterate. 

3.  From  this  point  the  Church  in  her  liberty  developed  the 
diocesan  Episcopacy.     (See  above  63,  9-15.) 

4.  The  development  of  the  Episcopacy  is  connected  with 
three  great  names,  Ignatius,  Irenseus  and  Cyprian.  (See 
above  57-62.) 

109.  The  desire  of  unity  led  the  Church  to  the  holding  of 
Synods. 

I.  The  first  Synod  or  Council  has  its  minutes  recorded  in 
Acts  15:1-30,  and  we  may  notice  the  following  facts: 

i)  The  deliberations  were  confined  to  the  Apostles  and 
elders  (Acts  15:6,  12). 

2)  The  discussion  took  place  in  the  presence  of  the  multi- 
tude (Acts  15:12). 

3)  The  whole  church  or  congregation  united  in  the  reception 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  EPISCOPAL  HIERARCHY.  69 

of  Paul  and  Barnabas  (Acts  15:4),  and  united  in  the  election  of 
men  to  accompany  them  in  their  return  to  Antioch  (Acts  15:22), 
but  the  people  apparently  took  no  part  ofl&cially  in  the  discussion 
of  the  Council  (Acts  15:12). 

2.  Synods  were  found  so  useful  that,  in  the  second  century, 
special  synods  were  held  to  settle  questions  of  doctrine  and  usage, 
and  synods  soon  began  to  be  fixed  institutions,  as  in  Greece. 

3.  In  the  third  century  synods  appeared  in  North  Africa  and 
Cappadocia  as  essential  elements  of  Church  constitution. 

4.  The  history  of  the  early  Councils  shows: 

i)  That  the  presbyters  originally  participated  in  these 
Synods,  in  connection  with  the  bishops. 

2)  The  assent  of  the  people  was  asked  on  the  question 
discussed. 

3)  As  the  idea  that  the  Holy  Spirit  wrought  through  the 
diocesan  episcopate  took  deeper  root,  the  participation  of  the 
people  and  the  rights  of  the  presbyters  fell  into  the  background. 

4)  The  bishops  soon  ceased  to  regard  themselves  as  the 
representatives  of  their  congregations,  and  now  began  to  act  as  if 
endowed  with  independent  authority.  Claiming  the  co-operation 
of  the  Holy  Sprit,  they  laid  down  their  decisions  as  law  (Greek 
kanon,  rule,  hence  canon,  canonical  lazo). 

5.  The  circles  out  of  which  the  Synods  were  originally  con- 
vened, were  the  provinces,  which  had  the  bond  of  a  common  nation- 
ality and  a  common  language — hence  provincial  and  national 
councils. 

6.  Not  until  Constantino  the  Great  (306-337  A.  D.)  gave 
political  recognition  to  the  Church,  and  the  inhabited  world  was 
regarded  as  coincident  with  the  Roman  Empire,  did  any  Synod 
claim  the  name  of  (Ecumenical  or  Universal. 

7.  The  eight  earliest  (Ecumenical  Councils  are: 

i)  I.  Nice,  325  A.  D. ;  2)  I.  Constantinople,  381  A.  D. ; 
3)  Ephesus,  431  A.  D.;  4)  Calcedon,  451  A.  D. ;  5)  II.  Con- 
stantinople, 553  A.  D.;  6)  III.  Constantinople,  680  A.  D.;  7)  II. 
Nice,  787  A.  D.;  8)  IV.  Constantinople,  869,  A.  D. 

no.  The  rise  of  regularly  organized  Synods  led  to  the 
development  of  the  Metrofolitayi  Constitiitiori. 

1.  The  life  of  the  Church  within  a  province  soon  formed  its 
central  point  in  the  Bishops  of  the  great  leading  cities,  the  Metro- 
politan centers. 

2.  The  metropolitan  bishops  consequently  were  looked  upon 
as  best  able  to  secure  the  unity  of  the  Church  administration 
within  a  province. 

3.  The  Council  of  Nice  considers  the  metropolitan  constitu- 
tion as  already  an  existent  thing,  and  assigns  a  certain  promi- 
nence, on  metropolitan  grounds,  to  the  bishops  of  Alexandria, 
Antioch  and  Rome. 

4.  The  steps  which  led  to  the  Roman  hierarchical  form  of 
government  can  be  traced  as  follows: 

i)  Congregational  episcopacy,  Jus  divinum  (by  divine 
right);  2)   Diocesan   episcopacy,  Jus   divinum;  3)  Metropolitan 


70  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

episcopacy,  Jus  divinum;  4)  the  Supremacy  of  the  Pope,  fus 
divinum. 

111.  The  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  Civil  Orders. 

1.  The  character  of  Christianity  enabled  it  readily  to  assimi- 
late itself  with  the  order  of  the  State. 

2.  Its  first  triumph,  in  a  political  aspect,  was  its  being  put 
upon  a  common  ground  of  protection  with  other  forms  of  religion 
by  Constantine  the  Great. 

3.  From  the  time  of  the  union  between  the  Church  and 
State,  the  spurious  "Catholic"  Church  developed  elements  which 
led  to  the  theory  of  the  primacy  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  to  the 
claim  of  the  Pope  to  universal  dominion. 

112.  Church  Polity  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  during 
the  Middle  Ages. 

1.  The  Pope  began  to  be  regarded  as  the  Supreme  authority 
in  Christendom,  holding  the  right  of  deciding  the  great  questions 
of  State  as  well  as  of  the  Church. 

2.  The  Episcopate  was  stripped  of  many  of  its  highest  pre- 
rogatives. 

3.  When  the  Papacy  reached  its  height  of  power  strong  evi- 
dences of  a  great  reactionary  tendency  made  themselves  felt. 

4.  The  Council  of  Pisa  (1409)  declared  that  supreme 
authority  lay  in  a  General  Council,  not  in  the  Pope;  the  Council  of 
Constance  (1414-1418)  claimed  such  a  supreme  authority;  and 
the  Council  of  Basle  (1431-1443)  deposed  the  Pope  and  limited  the 
Papal  power. 

XI.      The  Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  the  Reformation  Period. 

113.  The  Reformation  and  the  Polity  of  the  Church. 

1.  The  doctrine  of  the  Reformation  most  powerfully  influ- 
enced the  government  of  the  Church. 

2.  Luther  soon  discovered  that  the  Christian  Church  and  the 
Roman  Church  are  not  identical. 

3.  He  soon  saw  that  the  N.  T.  makes  no  such  distinction 
between  the  clergy  and  laity  as  was  taught  and  practiced  by  the 
Roman  Church. 

4.  In  place  of  a  priesthood  communicating  salvation,  the 
Reformation  laid  down  as  a  postulate,  the  universal  priesthood  of 
all  believers. 

i)  The  N.  T.  Church  does  not  know  of  any  sacerdotal  or 
priestly  system. 

2)  The  ministry  is  not  identical  with,  nor  derived  from,  the 
Levitical  priesthood,  and  is  not  designated  to  offer  sacrifice  and  to 
make  atonement. 

3)  The  privileges  of  the  universal  priesthood  are  never  trans- 
ferred to  the  ministry. 

5.  The  Reformation  introduced  a  new  order  of  divine  ser- 
vice, and  established  the  ofiQce  of  the  evangelical  ministry. 

6.  In  the  judgment  of  the  Reformers  the  great  significance 
of  the  ministry  is,  that  in  it  the  universal  priestly  calling  of  all 
believers  comes  into  a  rightly  ordered  exercise. 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH  POLITY.  71 

7.  With  this  idea  of  the  ministry  began  the  renewed  consti- 
tution of  the  Church. 

8.  The  place  in  which  the  pastor  is  to  work  is  the  congrega- 
tion by  which  he  has  been  called. 

i)  He  is  to  preach  the  gospel  and  administer  the  sacra- 
ments. 

2)  His  office  is  representative,  not  vicarial.  His  acts  are  not 
his  own  but  the  acts  of  the  congregation. 

g.  In  the  spirit  of  this  conception  of  the  ministerial  office 
the  German  cities  and  states  began  to  arrange  their  constitutions. 

10.  The  disturbed  condition  of  society  and  the  various 
necessities  of  the  Church  led  to  the  establishing  of  a  stricter  govern- 
ment, and  to  a  disposition  to  appeal  to  the  State  for  protection, 
which  later  under  the  development  of  the  territorial  system  led  to 
such  disastrous  results. 

11.  In  the  larger  cities  at  the  head  of  the  clergy  was  the 
Superintendent,  who  with  the  other  clergy  form  the  Ministerium, 
which  decides  all  matters  relating  to  the  Word  of  God  and  exer- 
cises Church  discipline. 

114.  Further  unfolding  of  the  Church  Constitution  during 
the  i6th  Century. 

1.  The  faith  of  the  Protestant  Evangelical  Church,  i.  e.,  the 
Lutheran  Church,  embodied  itself  in  the  Confessions  as  published 
in  1580  under  the  title  of  "The  Book  of  Concord." 

i)  The  importance  of  the  Lutheran  Confessions  for  Church 
law  is  not  so  much  that  they  attempt  to  present  the  complete 
system  of  an  unchangeable  constitution; 

2)  But  they  unfold  on  the  basis  of  Scripture  only  the  most 
important  principles,  which  will  develop  themselves  in  a  manifold 
way  in  the  practical  life  of  the  Church. 

3)  Of  special  importance  are  the  affirmations  in  regard  to 
the  limitation  of  Church  power  and  the  position  of  the  ministry. 

4)  The  foundation  of   Lutheran  Church  Polity  is  specifically*  I 
laid  in  Art.  XXVIII.  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

2.  The  outline  of  Art.  XXVIII.  of  A.  C,  Of  Ecclesiastical  \ 
Power  is  as  follows: 

i)     The  importance  of  the  doctrine  (§  1-4). 

2)  The  Scriptural  doctrine  stated  {\  5-12). 

1.  The  power  of  the  keys  (ecclesiastical  power),  according  to 
the  Gospel,  is  a  power  or  command  of  God  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
to  remit  and  retain  sins,  and  to  administer  the  Sacraments   (John  . 
20:21-23;  Mark  16:15,    16)  (^  5-7). 

2.  This  power  is  put  into  execution  only  by  teaching  or 
preaching  God's  Word  and  administering  the  sacraments,  in 
accordance  with  the  call.     {\  8-10). 

3.  As  ecclesiastical  power  is  concerning  things  eternal,  and 
is  exercised  only  by  the  ministry  of  the  word,  it  does  not  hinder 
the  political  government,  any  more  than  the  art  of  singing  hinders 
the  political  government  (§  11,  12). 

3)  There  is  a  distinction  between  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
powers  {\  13-18). 

I.     Our  teachers    distinguish    between  the  duties    of    each 


72  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

power,  one  from  the  other,  and  warn  all  men  to  honor  both 
powers,  and  to  acknowledge  both  to  be  the  highest  gift  and  blessing 
of  God. 

4)  Limitations  to  the  Jurisdiction  of  bishops  (§  19-29). 

1.  Bishops  may  exercise  two  forms  of  jurisdiction,  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  (§  19). 

2.  We  must  distinguish  between  the  two  (§  20). 

3.  The  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  belongs  to  bishops,  by 
divine  right,  only  as  ministers  of  the  Word,  and  the  only  jurisdiction 
they  have  is  that  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments,  to  remit  and  to 
retain  sins,  to  judge  doctrine  and  to  exercise  discipline  (§  21). 

4.  In  the  exercise  of  this  ofl&ce  the  Churches  owe  them 
obedience  necessarily  and  of  divine  right,  Luke  10:16  (§  22). 

5.  If  they  teach  or  determine  anything  contrary  to  the 
Gospel,  then  the  Churches  have  a  command  of  God  which  pro- 
hibits obedience.  Matt.  7:15;  Gal.  1:8,  9;  2  Cor.  13:8,  10.   (^  23-28), 

6.  All  other  powers,  like  matrimony,  etc. ,  they  have  only  by 
human  right  (§  29). 

5)  Their  power  to  institute  ceremonies  in  the  Church 
examined  (§  30-68). 

1.  The  argument  stated  by  which  they  claim  power  to  make 
laws  concerning  holidays  and  orders  of  ministers  (§  30-33). 

2.  They  have  no  power  to  ordain  anything  contrary  to  the 
Gospel,  nor  to  require  the  observation  of  any  traditions  to  merit 
grace  or  righteousness  (§  34-38). 

3.  By  imposing  such  traditions  and  laws  they  ensnare  men's 
consciences  (§  39-42). 

4.  The  making  of  such  laws  and  traditions  to  merit  grace 
strictly  prohibited  in  Scripture,  Col.  2:16,  20-23;  Tit.  1:14;  Matt. 
15:14;  I  Tim.  4:1  {§  43-49)- 

5.  It  is  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  Christian  liberty  for  any 
bishops  to  institute  such  human  ordinances.  Gal.  5:1  (§  50-52). 

6.  It  is  lawful  for  the  ministry  (bishops  or  pastors)  to  make 
ordinances  for  the  sake  of  order  in  the  Church,  but  not  that  we 
may  merit  grace  (§  53,  54). 

7.  Such  ordinances  it  behooves  the  Churches  to  keep  for  the 
sake  of  order  (i  Cor.  14:40;  Phil.  2:14),  but  they  do  not  account 
them  as  things  necessary  to  salvation  (§  55-64). 

8.  And  such  traditions  and  rites  change  and  grow  out  of  use 
as  time  passes  by  {'i  65-68). 

6)  An  appeal  to  the  bishops  to  suffer  the  Gospel  to  be  purely 
taught,  and  to  relax  such  ordinances  and  traditions  which  cannot 
be  observed  without  sin  (§  69-77). 

115.  Outline  of  the  A^pology  on  Art.  XIV.,  Of  Ecclesiastical 
Orders. 

1.  Concerning  Church  Government  the  Confessors  teach 
that  no  man  should  publicly  teach  in  the  Church  or  administer  the 
Sacraments,  unless  he  he  rightly  called  (§  24  a). 

2.  It  is  their  greatest  wish  to  maintain  Church  Polity  and 
the  grades  in  the  Church,  even  though  they  have  been  made  by 
human  authority  (§  246). 

3.  For  Church  discipline  was  instituted  by  the  Fathers  as 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH  POLITY.  73 

laid    down    in    the    ancient    canons,    with    a    good    and    useful 
intention  (§  24  c). 

4.  The  cruelty  of  the  bishops  is  the  reason  why  canonical 
government  is  in  some  cases  dissolved  (|  25-27). 

5.  We  would  gladly  maintain  ecclesiastical  order,  but  the 
unrighteous  cruelty  of  the  bishops  prevents  us  (§  28). 

116.  Outline  of  the  Apolog^y  on  Art.  XV.,  Of  Human 
Traditions  in  the  Church. 

1.  Such  ecclesiastical  rites  are  to  be  observed  as  can  be 
observed  without  sin  and  are  profitable  for  tranquility  and  good 
order  in  the  Church  {\  i  a). 

2.  But  such  human  traditions  cannot  merit  grace,  nor  make 
satisfaction  for  sins  (§  i  h,  2). 

3.  The  adversaries  in  teaching  otherwise  are  openly  Juda- 
izing  {I  3-5). 

4.  Scripture  clearly  teaches  that  human  observances  do  not 
merit  the  remission  of  sins,  and  that  Christ  is  our  only 
Mediator  (§  6-12). 

5.  Human  rites  were  instituted  by  the  Fathers  for  the  sake 
of  good  order  in  the  Church  (§  13). 

6.  The  folly  of  thinking  that  human  rites  justify  or  are 
profitable  for  meriting  grace  (§  14-17). 

7.  The  doctrine  of  the  adversaries  is  "the  very  form  and 
constitution  of  the  Kingdom  of  Antichrist"  (§  18-21). 

8.  Traditions  have  "a  show  of  wisdom"  (Col.  2:23),  but  are 
easily  perverted  (§  22-24). 

9.  Infinite  evil  results  follow  such  perversions  (§  25-28). 

10.  Such  human  traditions  are  not  necessary  for  justi- 
fication {§  2g,  30). 

11.  And  the  bishops  have  no  power  to  institute  services  with 
this  design  {I  31-37)- 

12.  All  useful  ordinances,  godly  ceremonies,  good  Church 
customs  (the  observance  of  Sunday,  of  the  three  great  Festivals, 
Christmas,  Easter,  Pentecost;  the  weekly  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper;  singing  of  Psalms;  catechisation,  etc.)  and  Church  dis- 
cipline, should  be  maintained  (§  38-44). 

13.  True  discipline  of  the  body  also  ought  not  to  be 
neglected  (§  45-48). 

14.  The  true  solution  of  all  these  difficulties  lies  in  the  true 
use  of  Christian  liberty  (§  49-52). 

117.  Outline  of  the  Apology  on  Art.  XXVIII.,  Of  Ecclesi- 
astical Pozver. 

1.  The  points  at  issue  in  this  controversy  with  Rome  (§  1-6). 
i)     The  adversaries  do  not  care  that  the  churches  be  rightly 

taught  and  the  sacraments  rightly  administered  (§  1-3). 

2)  They  demand  that  human  traditions  be  observed  more 
accurately  than  the  Gospel  (§  4,  5). 

3)  The  bishops  maintain  they  have  the  power  of  rule  and 
of  coercive  correction,  and  have  authority  to  frame  laws,  contrary 
to  the  Gospel,  useful  for  obtaining  eternal  life  (§  6). 

2.  The  bishops  have  no  right  to  impose  traditions  upon  the 


74  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

Church  in  addition  to  the  Gospel  to  merit  remission  of  sins  and 
righteousness  (§  7-14). 

i)  For  it  is  only  for  Christ's  sake,  by  faith,  that  we  freely 
receive  remission  of  sins  {§7). 

2)  For  human  traditions  are  useless  services,  as  hearts  are 
only  purified  by  faith,  Acts  15:8-11  (§  8). 

3)  Traditions  do  not  conduce  to  eternal  life  (§  9,  10). 

4)  The  only  power  a  true  bishop  has  as  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  is  a)  the  ^ower  of  the  orde7',  i.  e. ,  the  ministry  of  the 
Word  and  Sacraments,  and  b)  the  poiver  of  Jurisdiction,  i.  e., 
the  authority  to  excommunicate  the  guilty,  and  to  absolve  those 
who  are  converted  and  seek  absolution  (§  11-13). 

5)  Even  this  power  is  not  tyrannical,  i.  e.,  without  law;  nor 
regal,  i.  e.,  above  law;  but  according  to  rule  and  order,  for  they 
have  a  fixed  command  and  a  fixed  Word  of  God  how  to  teach  and 
to  exercise  jurisdiction  (§  14  a). 

6)  Though  they  have  some  jurisdiction,  it  does  not  follow 
that  they  are  able  to  institute  new  services  contrary  to  the  Gospel 
(I  14  b). 

3.  Traditions  may  be  observed  when  not  regarded  necessary 
services  (§  15,  16). 

i)  Bishops  may  establish  ordinances  for  the  sake  of  order 
and  tranquihty  in  the  Church  (^  15). 

2)  But  the  use  of  such  ordinances  must  be  left  free,  and  it 
must  be  clearly  understood  that  they  are  liable  to  change  with 
time  (§  16). 

4.  The  arguments  of  the  adversaries  answered  (§  17-27). 

i)  They  cannot  quote  Luke  10:16  in  their  favor,  for  this  has 
no  reference  to  their  traditions,  but  is  most  effective  against  tradi- 
tions. Christ  wishes  His  own  Word  to  be  heard,  not  human 
traditions  (§  17-19). 

2)  Nor  Heb.  13:17,  for  this  does  not  establish  a  rule  of  the 
bishops  apart  from  the  Gospel,  but  requires  obedie?ice  to  the  Gos- 
pel (^  20). 

3)  Nor  Matt.  23:3,  for  this  does  not  mean  that  we  should  do 
anything  contrary  to  God's  command  and  Word.  "We  must  obey 
God  rather  than  men",  Acts  5:29  (§  21). 

4)  The  doctrine  of  our  Confession  does  not  cause  public 
scandal.  All  we  seek  is  the  truth,  and  we  dare  not  desert  it 
(§  22-27). 

118.  Teaching  of  the  Smalcald  Articles  (Luther),  A^.  VTJ  , 
Of  the  Keys.  '     "^ -'-^ —  ^      ' 

I.  "The  keys  are  an  ofiQce  and  power  given  by  Christ  to  the 
Church  for  binding  and  loosing  sins." 

119.  \x^    TY  ,  Of  Excommunication. 

1.  The  greater  excommunicaEioni~as  the  Pope  calls  it,  is  a 
civil  penalty,  and  does  not  pertain  to  us  ministers  of  the  Church. 

2.  We  here  refer  to  true  Christian  excommunication,  when 
ministers  "prohibit  manifest  and  obstinate  sinners  from  the  sacra- 
ment and  other  communion  of  the  Church  until  they  are  reformed 
and  avoid  sin". 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH   POLITY.  75 

120,  Outline  of  Affendix  to  the  Smalcald  Articles,  Part  II., 
Of  the  Fozuer  and  Jurisdiction  of  Bishops. 

1.  All  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  by  divine  right,  have  the 
same  ecclesiastical  power  (^  60-64). 

i)  They  equally  have  the  fozuer  of  the  order,  i.  e.,  to  preach 
the  Gospel  and  administer  the  sacraments  (i  60  a). 

2)  They  equally  have  the  ;poiver  of  jurisdiction,  to  excom- 
municate and  to  absolve  {\  60  b). 

3)  Whether  they  be  called  pastors,  or  elders,  or  bishops 
(§  61,  62). 

4)  By  hutnan  authority  a  distinction  may  and  has  been 
drawn  between  bishops  and  pastors  (§  63,  64). 

2.  The  Church  always  has  the  right  to  elect,  call  and  ordain 
ministers  {\  65-72.) 

i)  For  as  the  grades  of  bishop  and  pastor,  by  divine  right, 
are  not  diverse,  any  pastor  (not  necessarily  a  bishop)  may  ordain 
certain  suitable  persons  to  the  ministry  (^  65). 

2)  So  when  the  regular  bishops  refuse  to  administer  ordina- 
tion, the  churches  retain  their  right  (§  66). 

3)  This  authority  to  call,  elect  and  ordain  ministers  is  a  gift 
exclusively  given  to  the  Church,  which  no  human  power  can  wrest 
from  the  Church  (§  67). 

4)  The  keys  have  been  given  to  the  Church,  and  not  merely 
to  certain  persons  {\  68,  69). 

5)  Therefore,  if  the  bishops  will  not  ordain  suitable  persons, 
the  Church  is  in  duty  bound  to  elect  and  ordain  ministers 
{I  70-72). 

3.  As  bishops  have  so  basely  abused  the  foiver  of  jurisdic- 
tion (of  excommunication  and  absolution),  it  is  right  also  to  restore 
this  power  to  pastors,  to  whom,  by  Christ's  command,  it  belongs 

{I  73-76). 

4.  As  the  bishops  in  many  cases  (matrimony,  etc.,)  have 
jurisdiction  only  by  human  right,  on  account  of  their  unjust  laws 
(prohibition  of  marriage  between  sponsors,  forbidding  an  innocent 
party  to  marry  after  divorce,  celibacy  of  priests,  etc.,)  such  juris- 
diction ought  to  be  withdrawn  (§  77,  78). 

5.  These  reasons  are  sufficient  why  the  bishops  should  no 
longer  be  recognized  (§  79). 

6.  And  in  addition  to  all  this,  the  bishops  are  defrauding  the 
Church  by  misusing  the  alms  of  the  Church  for  their  own  luxury 
(§  80-82). 

121.  Lu^er's  Tea£hinj^..QjL£cclesiastical  Government.  (See 
Koestli7i.)  '  "~" 

I.     In   connection   with   his   controversy   with   the   Zwickau 
Prophets,  and  in  a  communication  addressed  to  the  "Council  and» 
People  of  Prague",  Luther  took  occasion  to  develop  more  fully  the! 
doctrine  of  the  uyiiversal priesthood  oi  all  believers  (1523  A.  D.).i 

i)     All  offices  in   the  Church  must  be  conferred  by  fellow- 1 
members  or  the  congregation. 

2)  Whoever  wishes  to  exercise  the  ofl&ce  of  the  ministry 
must  have  a  regular  and  formal  call. 

3)  To  be  a  priest,  exercising  the  universal  priesthood,  is  not 


76  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

the  same  as  to  be  a  minister;  all  believers  are  priests,  but  minis- 
ters are  called  and  made. 

4)  A  Christian  congregation  (or  Church)  has  the  right  to  call 
ministers. 

5)  To  exercise  the  ofi&ce  of  the  ministry  publicly  and  habitu- 
ally is  not  permitted  except  with  the  consent  of  the  whole  body,  or 
the  Church;  in  case  of  necessity,  it  is  different. 

6)  He  advises  the  Council  of  Prague,  as  representatives  of 
the  Church,  to  elect  pastors,  to  ordain  them,  and  commend  them 
to  the  people. 

7)  Bishops  are  not  to  appoint  any  pastors,  however,  "with- 
out the  will,  election  and  call  of  the  congregation". 

8)  In  case  of  necessity — for  this  knows  no  law — a  preacher 
may  be  secured,  either  by  pleading  for  one  or  by  appointment  by 
the  secular  authorities;  or  an  individual  believer,  if  he  has  the 
abilities,  may  arise  and  teach  and  assume  the  office. 

g)  But  Luther,  already  as  early  as  1523,  emphasized  the  fact 
that  the  individual  believer  should  employ  his  authority  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  universal  priesthood  only  hi  case  of  necessity. 

10)  But  this  doctrine  was  soon  perverted  by  many  to  the 
grossest  abuse. 

11)  In  opposition  to  the  Anabaptists,  Luther  expounds  the 
doctrine  of  the  Call  to  the  Ministry  still  more  emphatically,  and 
warns  the  Churches  against  these  self-appointed  preachers  who 
"come  of  their  own  choice  and  piety,"  and  most  positively  insists 
upon  the  exclusive  authority  of  every  pastor  in  his  own  parish. 

12)  He  now  no  longer  leaves  any  room  for  the  free  exercise 
of  public  preaching. 

13)  And  the  community  of  believers  falls  for  him  into  two 
sections,  preachers  and  the  laity, — and  though  in  his  later  period 
Luther  felt  himself  called  upon  to  emphasize  more  fully  the 
authority  and  dignity  of  the  ministerial  office,  nevertheless  the 
main  features  of  the  doctrine  remained  unchanged. 

2.     Summary  of  Luther's  later  Teaching, 
i)     The  universal  priesthood  belongs  to   all   believers,    and 
includes  the  right  and  authority  to  teach  the  Word  of  God. 

2)  The  power  of  the  keys  belongs  to  the  whole  Church  and 
to  all  members,  and  we  may  even  say,  the  preaching-ofiSce  belongs 
to  all. 

3)  But  not  all  can  preach,  but  one  must  speak  for  the  con- 
gregation. 

4)  The  office  of  the  ministry  must  be  committed  to  one 
person. 

5)  Clerical  rank  is  a  ministry  and  calling  of  the  ministers  of 
the  Church. 

6)  Those  who  have  been  elected  and  called,  if  they  have 
suitable  gifts,  shall  be  ordained. 

7)  The  pastors  or  bishops  already  in  office  shall  participate 
in  the  induction  of  every  new  candidate  into  the  ministry,  approve 
of  his  doctrine,  and  confirm  his  appointment  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands. 

8)  As  a  minister  he  is  the  fuhlic  administrant  of  that  which 


THE  TEACHING  OF    MELANCHTHON.  77 

belongs  to  the  entire  congregation,  appointed  by  the  congregation, 
and  called  and  ordained  of  God. 

g)  He  exercises  spiritual  authority  publicly  and  officially, 
through  the  ^ozaer  of  the  07-der  (the  Word  and  Sacraments), 
and  through  the  ;pozuer  of  jurisdiction  (spiritual  loosing  and 
binding). 

lo)  He  rules  by  means  of  the  Word,  and  is  a  bishop  or 
overseer,  a  watchman,  and  his  power  a  ministry. 

3.  Luther  is  consistent  and  harmonious  in  his  teaching, 
though  we  can  trace  a  development  in  the  clearness  and  fullness 
of  his  statement. 

i)  Many  find  a  seeming  conflict  on  this  subject  between  the 
private  writings  of  Luther  and  the  conservative  statements  of  the 
Confessions. 

2)  Others,  holding  most  diverse  views  on  the  subject  of  the 
Church  and  Church  Polity,  with  equal  confidence  and  assurance 
quote  Luther  as  co-inciding  with  their  special  theory. 

3)  In  Luther's  case  pre-eminently,  as  in  the  case  with  all 
writers  who  have  written  extensively,  and  have  often  been  obliged 
to  write  hurriedly,  we  must  not  forget  to  interpret  and  modify 
one  statement  by  all  the  others,  and  carefully  note  the  occasion 
and  the  time  when  written. 

4)  The  intensity  of  Luther's  conviction  and  the  singleness  of 
his  aim  often  led  him  to  a  certain  isolation  of  statement,  so  that 
what  seems  to  be  asserted  absolutely,  we  find  from  other  passages 
of  his  writings,  must  be  taken  relatively. 

122.  The  Teaching  of  Melanchthon. 

1.  Melanchthon  emphasizes  the  fact  that  congregations 
should  have  a  voice  in  the  calling  of  pastors,  and  have  the  right 
of  rejecting  ungodly  or  unsuitable  men. 

2.  So  in  the  administration  of  discipline,  he  maintains  that 
it  is  not  lawful  for  the  pastor  alone  to  pronounce  sentence  of 
excommunication,  but  the  judgment  of  some  of  the  more  honora- 
ble men  of  the  Church  should  be  employed. 

3.  But  by  the  close  of  the  i6th  century  there  was  allowed 
only  a  sort  of  negative  co-operation  to  the  members  of  a  parish 
in  the  appointment  of  a  pastor. 

123.  The  Doctrine  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity  in  its  Later 
Development, 

1.  At  the  end  of  the  i6th  century  the  constitution  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  had  found  its  highest  point  in  the  princes,  and 
its  administrative  organs  in  the  consistories. 

2.  With  these  stood  the  body  of  the  ministry,  not  indeed  as 
an  organized  force,  yet  presenting  important  limitations. 

3.  Under  both,  without  taking  part  in  political  rule  or  in 
ecclesiastical  administration,  was  the  mass  of  the  unofficial  laity. 

4.  The  theologians  now  taught  the  doctrine  of  the  Three 
Estates : 

i)     The  Political  Estate,  the  Rights  of  the  State. 

2)  The  Ecclesiastical  Estate,  or  the  Rights  of  the  Church. 

3)  The  Domestic  Estate,  or  the  Rights  of  the  Family. 


78  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

5.  This  doctrine  of  the  three  Estates,  known  as  the  Epis- 
copal System,  was  modified  in  various  respects. 

6.  The  different  rights  then  came  to  be  divided  as  follows: 
i)     The  clergy  exercised  material  Church  power,  i.   e.,  con- 
trolled the  judgment   of   doctrine  and  the  administration  of  dis- 
cipline. 

2)  The  princes  exercised  the  formal  power,  i.  e.,  they 
gave  external  sanction  to  that  which  was  offered  them  by  the 
clergy. 

3)  To  the  people  belonged  the  right  to  accept  and  use  what 
was  given  them,  and  to  obey  what  v/as  commanded. 

7.  This  theory  was  developed  by  the  theologian  Carpzov, 
whose  object,  by  extending  the  rights  of  the  clergy,  was  to  pre- 
serve purity  of  doctrine.  It  made  the  prince  or  ruler  summits 
€;piscopus,  combining  in  his  person  the  highest  spiritual  with  the 
highest  civil  authority. 

8.  Pietism  in  emphasizing  the  universal  priesthood  sought 
to  cure  the  languishing  Church,  and  indirectly  was  the  means  of 
introducing  the    Territorial  System. 

9.  This  was  developed  under  the  influence  of  Thomasius  {d. 
1728)  in  direct  personal  opposition  to  Carpzov.  It  assumed  that 
the  prince  or  ruler  as  sovereign  ruler  in  the  State  possessed  the 
highest  ecclesiastical  authority.  The  headship  of  the  Church 
thus  became  an  inherent  element  of  civil  government.  It  denies 
that  the  Church  is  a  special  order  of  life,  with  a  government  of 
its  own,  working  by  ecclesiastical  means. 

10.  Under  the  influence  of  Pietism  the  third  view,  known 
as  the  Collegial  System  now  rose  to  prominence.  The  greatest 
early  representative  of  this  view  is  Pfaff  {d.  1760).  The  third 
Estate,  the  people,  was  now  brought  more  prominently  into  view. 

11.  According  to  the  Collegial  System  the  exercise  of  Church 
power  on  the  part  of  the  Sovereign  or  Magistracy  derived  its 
right  only  from  the  consent  of  the  Church,  and  all  matters  per- 
taining to  doctrine,  worship,  ecclesiastical  law  and  its  adminis- 
tration, installation  of  clergy,  and  excommunication,  belong  to 
the  whole  Church,  consisting  of  clergy  and  laity. 

12.  The  last  struggle  in  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Europe 
may  be  said  to  lie  between  the  Territorial  and  Collegiate 
Systems. 

124.      The  Relation  of  the  Lutheran  Church  to  the  State  : 

1.  The  Lutheran  Church  in  the  course  of  her  development 
has  stood  in  the  closest  connection  with  the  life  of  the  State. 

2.  In  consequence  the  government  of  the  Church  has  been 
largely  secularized. 

3.  This  has  led  to  many  attempts  to  separate  Church  and 
State,  or  at  least  to  lift  the  Church  above  all  the  fluctuations  of 
political  life. 

4.  For  the  most  part  in  Europe  the  best  solutions  have  been 
Church  courts  with  a  collegial  constitution,  under  the  control  of 
the  supreme  officials  of  the  State. 

5.  The  questions  of  Church  Government  in  the  Lutheran 
Church  are  still  in  course  of  agitation. 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   POLITY.  79 

XII.     Studies  in  Lutheran  Church  Polity. 

125.     Introduction. 

1.  Church  Polity  is  of  vital  importance  and  of  peculiar  value 
at  the  present  time,  on  account  of  the  great  extravagance  of 
hierarchical  pretensions  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  disorganizing 
laxity  of  sectarianism  on  the  other.  We  have  infallibility  claimed 
by  the  Pope  and  virtual  infallibility  claimed  for  the  people  of  a 
congregation. 

2.  Though  the  Lutheran  Church  has  clearly  stated  the 
general  principles  underlying  Church  Government,  yet  compared 
with  the  rich  maturity  and  perfection  of  her  system  of  doctrine, 
her  Church  Polity  may  be  regarded  as  relatively  undeveloped.  In 
no  period  of  her  history  has  there  been  less  comprehension  of  her 
true  principle  of  government  than  seems  to  characterize  many 
parts  of  our  Church  in  this  country. 

3.  The  main  reason  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  her  various 
nationalities,  originally  coming  from  different  lands,  brought  with 
them  different  modes  of  government  or  no  mode  at  all,  and  in  the 
mingling  of  her  peoples  and  the  immense  missionary  activity  of 
the  churches,  very  little  attention  could  be  given  to  this  problem. 

4.  But  considering  the  great  future  in  store  for  our  Church 
in  this  land,  it  behooves  us  to  ponder  what  should  be  the  outward 
form  of  bodily  organization  through  which  the  spirit  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  can  best  accomplish  her  great  task. 

5.  The  constitution  or  polity  of  the  Lutheran  Church  may  in 
its  particular  form  be  largely  influenced  bj'  the  individuality 
of  character  pertaining  to  particular  nationalities  and  particular 
eras. 

6.  Any  polity  must  be  considered  as  in  general  conformity 
with  the  will  of  Christ,  so  long  as  within  it  pure  faith  and  Chris- 
tian life  can  be  unfolded  in  freedom  and  peace. 

7.  It  is  on  this  principle  that  the  fact  is  accounted  for  and 
justified  that  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  particular  national 
churches  has  developed  a  Polity  with  more  or  less  special  pecu- 
liarities of  form. 

8.  This  explains  why  in  some  parts  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
the  Episcopal  form  of  government  has  been  adopted,  as  in  Norway 
and  Sweden,  while  in  others,  as  in  Germany,  the  churches  were 
governed  by  consistories  constituted  by  the  heads  of  govern- 
ment, or  as  later  by  Superintendents  (Inspectors,  Provosts, 
Deans,  Seniors),  while  in  the  United  States  two  tendencies  have 
developed  themselves,  the  first  leaning  towards  the  presbyterial 
and  Synodal  polity,  and  the  second  towards  a  congregational 
polity. 

9.  These  diverse  forms  of  polity  do  not  imply  that  there  is 
not  some  polity  which  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  genius  and 
spirit  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  but  it  only  emphasizes  the  fact 
that  the  Church  in  her  relations  to  the  State  and  society,  in  her 
freedom  and  development  of  the  religious  life,  has  not  come  to  a 
living  realization  of  the  form  of  polity  which  is  best  adapted  for  her 
growth  and  development. 


80  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

10.  That  Church  PoHty  ought  to  be  encouraged,  in  the  free- 
dom of  the  Church,  which  best  solves  the  great  problems  which 
lie  before  us  as  a  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country. 

i)  To  develop  the  life  and  energy  of  the  congregation  without 
engendering  a  false  independency. 

2)  To  produce  the  highest  activity  in  the  separate  congrega- 
tions. The  congregation  is  not  a  mere  passive  element;  it  should 
take  an  active  part  in  the  ordering  of  its  own  secular  interests, 
and  in  the  exercise  of  discipline,  either  directly  or  through  its 
authorized  representatives;  in  fact  the  welfare  of  the  congregation 
depends  on  a  healthy  harmony  between  the  activity  of  the  pastor- 
ate and  the  activity  of  the  congregation. 

3)  To  conjoin  with  that  activity  a  thorough  organization 
which  will  in  the  highest  degree  promote  the  most  perfect  united 
action  of  the  whole  Church,  and  develop  livi^ig  churches  in  a 
compact  and  liviyig  Church.  For  it  is  desirable  that  the  congre- 
gations should  stand  in  organic  relation  with  each  other,  as 
mutual  aids  in  the  conservation  of  pure  doctrine,  the  ordering  of 
divine  service,  the  administration  of  discipline,  and  the  general 
development  of  the  kingdom  of  God  (Education,  Inner  Mission, 
Home  Missions,  Foreign  Missions). 

11.  To  the  attempt  to  bring  about  the  activity  of  the  congre- 
gation we  owe  the  congregational  constitutions  of  recent  periods, 
and  in  this  effort  many  of  our  Synods  in  this  country  have  been 
engaged. 

12.  In  all  rightly  organized  congregations  the  pastor  forms, 
by  virtue  of  his  ofi5ce,  the  highest  of  the  governing  authorities. 

13.  In  association  with  him  as  aids  (deacons)  are  such  per- 
sons only  as  are  in  full  communion  with  the  Church,  regular  in 
attendance  in  her  worship,  doing  honor  to  the  Word  and  Sac- 
rament, and  leading  a  life  which  gives  credible  evidence  of  Chris- 
tian character. 

14.  The  best  view  of  the  relation  of  the  pastor  to  his  flock 
is  that  the  congregation  is  but  an  organ  of  the  Church  as  a  whole 
in  placing  him  in  its  pastorate, — that  the  minister  is  the  minister 
of  Christ,  therefore  of  His  whole  Church,  whose  functions  are 
restricted  by  the  Church  to  the  congregation.  As  an  ambassador, 
though  confined  to  one  locality,  he  is  yet  the  representative  of  the 
whole  Church,  for  which  those  who  made  the  call  and  the  appoint- 
ment are  acting. 

15.  The  disposition  to  give  to  the  individual  congregation  the 
right  to  make  regulations  touching  the  general  confession  and  the 
general  order  of  the  Church  has  arisen  from  a  complete  confusion 
of  ideas  which  are  partly  the  result  of  reaction  against  the  con- 
tinued neglect  of  the  congregational  element.  Such  a  tendency 
unarrested  runs  out  at  last  into  complete  independency  and 
general  anarchy.  Congregations  may  indeed  by  the  common 
constitution  under  which  they  act,  make  provision  in  certain 
reserved  cases  for  special  action  of  their  own,  but  it  is  in  conflict 
with  the  entire  conception  of  representative  government,  that  the 
same  organic  bodies  which  reach  results  in  common,  should  have 
the  power  of  overthrowing  them  by  separate  action. 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH    POLITY.  81 

XIII.     Annotations  on  the  Principles  of  Church  Polity  adopted 
by  the  General  Council. 

126.     Further  elucidation  of  this  Topic.    (Based  on  Krauth.) 

As  there  seems  to  be  such  mistaken  notions,  in  these 
unchurchly  times,  about  the  authority  and  power  of  the  Church, 
it  may  be  of  aid  to  us  to  examine  this  topic  more  closely.  The 
presentation  will  follow  the  order  of  the  Fu7idamental  Princifles 
of  Ecclesiastical  Fozver  and  Church  Government  adopted  by 
the  General  Council  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  North 
America,  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  in  1867, — which  is  also  a  part  of 
the  Constitution  of  '  'The  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran  Church,  at  Chicago,  111." 

"I.  All  power  of  the  Church  belongs  primarily,  properly 
and  exclusively  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  'true  God,  begotten  of 
the  Father  from  eternity,  and  true  man,  born  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,'  Mediator  between  God  and  men,  and  Supreme  Head  of 
the  Church.  This  supreme  and  direct  power  is  not  delegated  to 
any  man  or  body  of  men  upon  earth." 

i)  This  Supreme  power  has  not  been  committed  to  pope, 
nor  body  of  bishops,  nor  clergy,  nor  Synod,  nor  General  Coun- 
cil, nor  to  the  whole  Church  on  earth  and  in  heaven. 

2)  Still  less  is  this  power  delegated  to  a  single  congregation 
or  its  pastor. 

3)  Christ's  will  and  Word  are  supreme  and  the  rule  by  them 
in  its  direct  form  is  transferred  to  no  other  hands. 

4)  But  a  subordinate  as  distinguished  from  a  supreme 
power,  a  mediate  as  distinguished  from  a  direct  power,  is 
committed  or  delegated  by  and  under  Christ  to  the  Church  on 
earth. 

"II.  All  just  power  exercised  by  the  Church  has  been  com- 
mitted to  her  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel,  through  the 
Word  and  Sacraments,  is  conditioned  by  this  end,  and  is  deriva- 
tive and  pertains  to  her  as  the  servant  of   Jesus  Christ." 

"The  Church,  therefore,  has  no  power  to  bind  the  con- 
science, except  as  she  truly  teaches  what  her  Lord  teaches,  and 
faithfully   commands   what  He  has  charged  her  to  command." 

i)  This  implies  that  there  is  a  Church  on  earth,  and  that 
she  has  functions  and  powers  entrusted  to  her. 

2)  This  implies  that  the  Church  in  fact  has  an  authority  and 
exercises  power. 

3)  All  the  well-established  parts  of  the  Church  exercise 
well-defined  powers.  The  exercise  of  some  power  is  the  neces- 
sary condition  of  existence. 

4)  When  we  speak  of  just  power  we  imply  that  there  is  an 
unjust  power  sometimes  exercised,  e.  g.,  in  the  Church  of  Rome. 

5)  Unjust  Church  power  may  have  one  or  more  of  the 
following  features  : 

d)    It  may  be  disallowed  of  Christ  and  of  His  Word  ; 

6)  It  may  be  monarchical,  having  one  head  upon  earth ; 
c)     It   may   be  falsely  aristocratic,  in   conflict  with   the  will 

and  right  of   the  people,  as  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  when  the 
Bishops  claim  power  "by  divine  right." 


82  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

6)  Over  against  this  is  just  power,  characterized  by  its 
derivation  from  right  sources,  its  having  right  ends  and  proper 
conditions. 

7)  The  just  power  exercised  by  the  Church  involves  three 
things : 

a)     That  it  shall  concern  things  right  in  themselves  ; 

5)     That  they  shall  be  things  which  rightly  belong  to  her; 

c)  That  she  shall  exercise  only  moral  and  spiritual  force. 
For  the  great  end  of  Church  authority  is  the  furtherance  of  the 
Gospel. 

8)  The  instruments  through  which  she  is  to  carry  out  this 
great  end  are  the  Word  and  Sacraments.  All  her  power  is  to  be 
alternately  exercised  through  these.  The  Church  may  reprove, 
warn,  and  correct  through  the  Word,  and  may  withhold  the  Sac- 
raments from  those  who  resist  the  truth. 

9)  This  power  of  the  Church  is  mainly  exercised  through  the 
ministry  to  whom  it  has  been  committed  by  the  Church.  Baier: 
"The  ministry  of  the  Church  bears  with  it  the  power  and  of&ce, 
i)  of  teaching  publicly  and  administering  the  Sacraments  accord- 
ing to  order;  and  2)  the  power  and  function  of  remitting  and 
retaining  Sins."  The  former  is  termed  the  fozL'cr  of  the  order; 
the  latter,  the  foiver  of  the  Keys,  or  the  power  of  Jurisdiction. 
This  power  of  the  Keys  is  two-fold,  loosing  and  binding,  Matt. 
16:19;  John  20:23. 

'  'III.  The  absolute  directory  of  the  Will  of  Christ  is  the 
Word  of  God,  the  Canonical  Scriptures,  interpreted  in  accordance 
with  the  'mind  of  the  Spirit,'  by  which  Scriptures  the  Church  is 
to  be  guided  in  every  decision.  She  may  set  forth  no  article  of 
faith  which  is  not  taught  by  the  very  letter  of  God's  Word,  or 
derived  by  just  and  necessary  inference  from  it,  and  her  liberty 
concerns  those  things  only  which  are  left  free  by  the  letter  and 
spirit  of  God's  Word." 

"IV.  The  primary  bodies  through  which  the  power  is 
normally  exercised,  which  Christ  commits  derivatively  and  minis- 
terially to  His  Church  on  earth,  are  the  Congregations.  The 
Congregation,  in  the  normal  state,  is  neither  the  Pastor  without 
the  People,  nor  the  People  without  the  Pastor." 

1)  This  implies  that  the  exercise  of  Church-power  on  earth 
is  a  corporate  one. 

2)  There  is  no  ordinary  Church-power  on  earth  except  the 
derivative  and  ministerial,  and  that  power  is  never  normally  con- 
ferred on  one  individual,  or  exercised  by  him  as  an  individual, 
that  is,  apart  from  the  representative  principle. 

3)  There  is  a  difference  between  an  abnormal  and  a  normal 
exercise  of  power.  Abnormal  power  may  be  exercised  a)  by  an 
extraordinary  commission  from  the  Head  of  the  Church,  as  in  the 
case  of  St.  Paul;  h)  under  circumstances  so  extraordinary  as  to 
create  a  necessity,  which  transcends  all  ordinary  rule;  or,  c)  with- 
out the  justification  of  the  necessity,  yet  with  a  tacit  consent  of 
the  Church. 

4)  Apart  from  abnormal  cases,  the  ordinary  corporation 
through   which   the   power   is   finally  mediated   is   the  Church  or 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH   POLITY.  83 

distinct   religious   community,  embracing   pastor  (or   pastors)  and 
people,  in  the  primary  organization  known  as  a  congregation. 

5)  To  the  true  idea  of  a  Christian  congregation  in  its  com- 
pleteness is  essential  the  concurrence  of  both  pastor  and  people. 

6)  Among  the  various  false  theories  of  Church-power  may 
be  enumerated  the  following:  a)  the  Papal  system;  b)  the  Jus 
diviyium  Episcopal  system;  c)  the  Jus  divinum  presbyterial 
system;  d)  the  Jus  divinum  congregational  system,  when  it  is 
identical  with  the  system  of  independency  and  considers  the  people 
ipart  from  the  pastor  as  the  total  congregation. 

"V.  In  Congregations  exists  the  right  of  representation.  In 
addition  to  the  Pastor,  who  by  their  voluntary  election  is  already 
ex-officio  their  representative,  the  people  have  the  right  to  choose 
representatives  from  their  own  number  to  act  for  them,  under 
such  constitutional  limitations  as  the  Congregation  approves." 

i)  A  representative  is  one  empowered  by  a  principal  to  act 
for  him  under  certain  defined  conditions. 

2)  The  principle  of  representation  meets  us  everywhere  as 
one  of  the  first  necessities  of  social,  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
activity. 

3)  The  act  of  the  representative,  in  so  far  as  power  is  given 
to  him,  binds  the  principal;  and  if  discretionary  power  is  given 
him,  and  the  representative  acts  within  its  limits,  he  binds  the 
principal. 

4)  In  the  higher  forms  of  human  need  the  principle  of 
representation  becomes  more  and  more  necessary. 

5)  A  congregation  can  be  ruled  in  no  way  but  representa- 
tively,— even  a  congregational  meeting  so-called,  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  pure  direct  democracy,  is  representative.  It  never 
embraces  the  whole  congregation — the  adults  represent  the  infant 
members,  men  represent  families,  and  even  if  women  vote,  not  all 
are  present,  the  sick  and  the  aged  are  absent,  and  unless  we 
concede  the  representative  principle,  no  congregational  meeting 
would  have  validity,  unless  every  member  were  present,  and  every 
member  voted  in  the  same  way — for  a  majority  after  all  represents 
the  minority  or  the  whole  congregation. 

6)  If  it  were  not  for  this  principle  of  representation  many 
congregations  could  never  unite  into  general  bodies. 

7)  Representatives  act  for  their  principals  in  listening, 
judging  and  deciding,  under  such  authority  as  has  been  granted 
them,  but  that  is  not  a  representative  system,  which  makes  the 
congregations  in  their  separation  superior  to  the  body  of  their 
own  representation. 

8)  God  calls  men  into  the  ministry  by  means  of  His  Church, 
through  which  He  exercises  His  power  of  appointing  public 
teachers  of  the  Word.  No  one  should  preach  publicly  and  ordi- 
narily, or  administer  the  Sacraments,  unless  he  be  rightly  and 
legitimately  called  with  the  ordinary  calling.  The  power  to  call 
is  a  divinely  given  right  that  belongs  to  the  whole  Church,  to  both 
people  and  ministers,  each  estate  virtually  possessing  the  power  of 
veto  on  the  act  of  the  other,  and  every  call  requiring  the  con- 
currence of  both  people  and  clergy. 


84  ECCLESIOLOGTA. 

9)  When  a  congregation  without  a  pastor,  calls  a  minister  as 
its  pastor,  he  by  this  call  becomes  their  representative  in  the 
public  functions  of  the  universal  priesthood.  All  N.  T.  believers 
are  priests  and  can  draw  near  to  God  and  offer  spiritual  sacrifices 
through  Jesus  Christ,  and  this  universal  priesthood  is  common  to 
all  believers,  but  this  universal  priesthood  does  not  confer  the 
right  to  offer  prayer  or  preach  publicly  representatively  for  all. 
Hence  the  necessity  arises  that  some  one  should  act  representa- 
tively for  all,  inasmuch  as  the  right  of  such  a  person  is  not 
individual  but  organic,  and  can  be  exercised  only  by  the  repre- 
sentation of  an  organism. 

10)  The  pastor  of  a  congregation  thus  becomes  representa- 
tive, not  by  the  transfer  of  a  number  of  individual  rights,  as 
individual,  to  him,  but  by  the  vocation  of  the  whole  congregation 
as  an  organism.  Just  as  our  representative  system  in  the  govern- 
ment of  our  country  necessarily  results  from  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people.  When  each  one  is  equally  sovereign  there  can  be  no 
government,  except  in  the  representative  principle,  by  which  the 
common  right  invests  itself  in  the  ruler.  When  each  man  is 
equally  president,  no  man  is  president,  for  presidency  involves 
superiority;  there  can  be  no  president  in  fact  as  one  superior  to 
the  common  level,  except  by  the  act  of  the  many  in  organic  unity. 

11)  As  every  minister  has  been  called  by  the  whole  Church, 
and  ordained  by  the  authority  of  the  Church,  the  pastor  of  every 
congregation  is  not  only  ex-officio  a  representative  of  the  congre- 
gation, but  as  such  is  also  a  representative  of  the  whole  Church. 

12)  The  system  of  lay-delegation  did  not  exist  in  the  N.  T. 
Church,  nor  in  the  Early  Church,  nor  is  it  essential  to  the  being 
of  the  Church,  however  much  we  may  regard  it  of  value  to  the 
Church's  well-being. 

13)  Ruling  Elders,  as  lay-ofiQcers,  are  not  authorized  by  the 
N.  T.,  and  were  not  known  until  the  sixteenth  century. 

14)  Jus  diviyium  lay-eldership  has  as  little  support  in  the 
New  Testament  as  Jus  diviyium  Episcopacy. 

15)  The  deacons  of  the  Early  Church  were  not  lay-represen- 
tatives of  the  congregation,  but  were  ministers'  aids. 

16)  It  is  only  on  the  broad  general  principles  of  common 
right  that  congregations  derive  the  power  of  representing  them- 
selves; the/ws  divinum  of  congregational  representation  is  purely 
generic,  not  scriptural. 

"VI.  The  representatives  of  congregations  thus  convened  in 
Synod,  and  acting  in  accordance  with  those  conditions  of  mutual 
congregational  compact,  which  are  called  a  Constitution,  are  for 
the  ends,  and  with  the  limitations  defined  in  it,  representatively, 
the  Congregations  themselves." 

'  'A  free.  Scriptural  General  Council  or  Synod,  chosen  by  the 
Church,  is,  within  the  metes  and  bounds  fixed  by  the  Church 
which  chooses  it,  representatively  that  Church  itself;  and  in  this 
case  is  applicable  the  language  of  the  Appendix  to  the  Smalcald 
Articles,  'The  judgments  of  Synods  are  the  judgments  of  the 
Church."' 

i)    Synodical  authority  is  derived  from  the  congregations; 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH  POLITY.  85 

the  Synod  is  a  congregation  of  congregations,  and  what  each  con- 
gregation has  separately,  the  whole  of  the  congregations  embodied 
through  their  representatives  has  by  a  stronger  reason  [a  foj'tiori) . 
A  congregation  of  individuals  has  not  the  same  authority  as  a  con- 
gregation of  congregations.  It  is  as  preposterous  to  claim  that  it 
has,  as  it  is  to  say  that  the  primary  meetings  of  the  people  have 
more  authority  than  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  though 
that  Congress,  in  a  certain  sense,  grows  out  of  the  primary  meet- 
ings. 

2)  The  congregations,  because  they  are  the  primary  sources 
of  the  church-power,  are  thereby  constituted,  not  the  highest  but 
the  lowest  church  authority  in  all  questions  not  strictly  congrega- 
tional. 

3)  The  constitution  here  spoken  of  is  a  compact  or  solemn 
agreement  as  to  the  terms  on  which  congregations  will  allow  other 
congregations  to  take  part  in  determining  questions  of  common 
interest. 

4)  When  congregations  make  such  a  compact  and  define  how 
far  the  representation  of  the  delegates  shall  go,  they  are  bound  up 
to  that  point  by  the  actions  of  their  delegates,  who  are  indeed  so 
far  the  congregation  itself  in  each  case. 

5)  That  a  free.  General  Council  or  Synod,  chosen  by  the 
Church,  is  representatively  the  Church  itself,  arises  necessarily 
from  the  representative  principle.  That  principle  holds  good  so 
long  as  it  is  possible  to  have  representation.  Whether  we  be 
represented  by  a  direct  representation  or  by  the  representation  of 
representatives,  the  representation  is  no  less  real  nor  less  derived 
from  the  primary  authority,  which  after  any  number  of  stages  is 
still  the  authority  embraced  in  the  final  representation.  Our  peo- 
ple choose  electors  to  choose  a  President.  It  is  not  the  electors  as 
private  men  but  as  representatives  who  choose,  and  the  choice  of 
the  electors  is  the  choice  of  the  people. 

6)  Such  a  representative  Council  or  Synod  must  be  free, 
removed  from  all  fear  of  civil  or  ecclesiastical  penalties,  and  from 
all  illicit  influence. 

7)  It  must  be  Scriptural,  resting  on  God's  Word  as  the  rule 
of  faith. 

8)  It  must  be  really  chosen  by  those  whom  it  represents. 

9)  It  must  do  what  it  has  been  constituted  to  do. 

10)  Accepting  these  principles,  so  far  discussed,  and  reason- 
ing from  them,  we  reach  the  following  conclusions: 

1.  The  Church  is  justly  regarded  by  our  divines  as  either 
Synthetic  (or  Collective)  on  the  one  hand,  or  Representative  on 
the  other. 

2.  A  Church  syyithetically  (or  collectively)  considered  is  the 
whole  body  of  pastors  and  members,  both  baptized  infants  and 
adults,  united  in  the  communion  of  the  same  faith. 

3.  The  Church  representatively  considered  consists  of  the 
pastors  and  such  other  persons  who  represent  the  Church  in 
the  examination  and  decision  of  questions  of  doctrine  and  dis- 
cipline. 

4.  The  power  of  representing  herself  or  of  embodying  herself 


86  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

representatively  is  an  inherent,  necessary  and  inalienable  right  of 
the  Church. 

"VII.  The  congregations  representatively  constituting  the 
various  district  Synods  may  elect  delegates  through  those  Synods, 
to  represent  themselves  in  a  more  general  body,  all  decisions  of 
which,  when  made  in  conformity  with  the  solemn  compact  of  the 
Constitution,  bind,  so  far  as  the  terms  of  mutual  agreement  make 
them  binding,  those  congregations  which  consent,  and  continue  to 
consent,  to  be  represented  in  that  general  body." 

i)  Representation  is  limited  only  by  the  power  of  actual 
exercise,  i.  e.,  as  long  as  we  can  represent  ourselves  we  may  rep- 
resent ourselves. 

2)  Constitutions  are  designed  for  the  benefit  of  all,  but 
especially  of  minorities,  because  majorities  can  take  care  of  them- 
selves relatively  better  than  minorities. 

3)  To  say  that  the  constitutional  decisions  of  a  body  fairly 
representative  bind  those  who  are  represented  in  it,  is  only  to  say 
that  we  are  bound  by  compact  and  agreement. 

'  'VIII.  If  the  final  decision  of  any  general  body  thus  consti- 
tuted shall  seem  to  any  Synod  within  it  in  conflict  with  the  faith, 
involving  violation  of  the  rights  of  conscience,  it  is  the  duty  of 
that  Synod  to  take  such  steps  as  shall  be  needed  to  prevent  a  com- 
promise on  its  part  with  error.  To  this  end  it  may  withdraw  itself 
from  relations  which  make  it  responsible  for  departure  from  the 
faith  of  the  Gospel,  or  for  an  equivocal  attitude  towards  it.  Such 
steps  should  not  be  taken  on  any  but  well  defined  grounds  of  con- 
science, not  on  mere  suspicion,  nor  until  prayerful,  earnest  and 
repeated  efforts  to  correct  the  wrong  have  proved  useless,  and  no 
remedy  remains  but  withdrawal." 

i)  The  decisions  of  such  a  body  must  be  really  final  and 
beyond  all  reasonable  hope  of  correction  before  the  withdrawal 
occurs. 

2)  These  fixed  and  final  decisions  must  involve  matters  of 
faith  and  conscience:  even  final  decisions  in  regard  to  questions 
out  of  the  sphere  of  conscience,  questions  about  adiaphora  and 
polity,  do  not  justify  the  withdrawal  of  Synods  which  are  dissatis- 
fied with  those  decisions. 

3)  The  steps  needed  to  correct  the  evil  supposed  will  vary 
according  to  the  circumstance. 

4)  Ecclesiastical  government  rests  upon  the  conscience  of 
men,  and  hence  demands  a  purity  and  freedom  of  conscience 
which  the  State  cannot  in  its  ideal  embrace. 

5)  At  this  point  it  may  be  of  help  to  us  to  state  clearly  and 
definitely  the  true  character  of  Ltitheran  Chio'ch  Government,  as 
implied  by  the  principles  so  far  advanced. 

I.  The  Lutheran  Church,  through  her  heavenly  Head,  as 
King  and  Lord  of  all,  and  through  His  rule,  in  consequence,  is  a 
fu7'e  moyiarchy — yet  she  is  not  in  her  human  government  a  mon- 
archy under  an  earthly  head  as  the  Romish  Church  is,  but  a  com- 
munion of  the  universal  priesthood,  representing  itself  in  the  office 
of  the  ministry  (in  which  Christ  also  represents  Himself  toward 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH   POLITY.  87 

His  Church)  and  in  other  ways,   but  acknowledging  no  earthly 
head  or  ruler. 

2.  She  is  not  a  hierarchy,  though  she  is  under  a  sacred 
rule  and  acknowledges  the  ministry,  as  the  representative  of  the 
order  which  forms  with  the  domestic  and  civil  orders,  the  three 
great  divine  institutions.  She  has  no  hierarchy  in  the  autocratic 
sense,  like  that  of  the  Jus  divimim  hierarchy  of  the  Episcopal 
Churches.  For  even  where  she  has  bishops  (and  that  too  with 
the  so-called  Apostolical  Succession,  as  in  Sweden  and  Norway) 
their  powers  are  limited  and  representative,  and  they  claim  no 
divine  right  not  common  to  all  ministers  of  the  Word. 

3.  She  is  not  an  aristocracy  like  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  which  virtually  a  body  of  chosen  men  rule  the  congregation  for 
life;  nor  like  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  which  is  ruled  by 
its  clergy  who  are  not  chosen  by  the  people;  for  in  the  Lutheran 
Church  the  people  choose  their  own  pastors,  and  represent  them- 
selves not  only  generically  by  their  pastors,  but  directly  and 
specifically  in  all  her  deliberative  bodies  by  delegates. 

4.  She  is  not  a  sporadic  Polyarchy,  like  the  Independents, 
separate  congregations  ruled  by  the  multitude,  but  maintains  a 
proper  unity  of  the  Church,  and  a  subordinate  but  real  author- 
ity of  the  ministers  of  the  Word  and  of  bodies  of  ministers  and 
by  delegates  representing  many  congregations, 

5.  The  Lutheran  Church  Government  maybe  called  Christo- 
cratic  Representative  Governynent. 

a)  It  is  Christocratic  on  its  divine  side.  All  legislative  or 
lawgiving  power  in  the  sphere  of  conscience  is  vested  in  Christ. 
Her  law  is  already  made  by  Christ  her  Head,  is  recorded  in  Holy 
Scripture,  and  is  supreme  and  unchangeable. 

6)  It  is,  however,  on  its  human  side,  representative  and 
elective.  She  has  power  for  making  regulations  for  the  better 
understanding  and  more  perfect  carrying  out  of  fundamental, 
unchangeable  constitutional  law. 

c)  There  is  also  a  subordinate  law-interpreting,  law-apply- 
ing and  law-executing  authority  in  the  Church.  This  she  exer- 
cises representatively  through  the  ministry  and  through  bodies 
composed  of  ministers  and  others,  and  this  representation  is 
elective. 

d)  This  authority,  though  not  absolute  like  the  law-giving 
power,  but  limited  and  ministerial,  nevertheless,  is  real,  and  to 
all  who  voluntarily  remain  under  it,  decisive. 

"IX.  The  obligation,  under  which  congregations  consent  to 
place  themselves,  to  conform  to  the  decisions  of  Synods,  does  not 
rest  on  any  assumption  that  Synods  are  infallible,  but  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  decisions  have  been  so  guarded  by  wise  constitu- 
tional provisions  as  to  create  a  higher  moral  probability  of  their 
being  true  and  rightful  than  the  decisions  in  conflict  with  them, 
which  may  be  made  by  single  congregations  or  individuals.  All 
final  decisions  should  be  guarded  with  the  utmost  care,  so  that 
they  shall  in  no  case  claim  without  just  grounds  to  be  the  judg- 
ment of  those  congregations  in  whose  name  and  by  whose  authority 


88  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

they  are  made — in  the  absence  of  which  just  grounds  they  are  null 
and  void." 

i)  No  government,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  synodical  or  con- 
gregational, can  truly  rest  upon  an  assumption  of  infallibility. 

2)  The  admission  of  fallibility  does  not  destroy  rightful 
authority  either  in  the  State,  in  the  Church  or  in  the  Family. 

3)  Some  have  objected  that  to  accept  the  decisions  of  Synods 
involves  a  transfer  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  their  own  rights 
divinely  given  them,  and  hence  are  not  capable  of  transfer.  The 
answer  is  simply  this:  one  of  the  inalienable  rights  of  the  people 
is  the  right  to  represent  themselves,  and  they  do  not  transfer  their 
rights  to  representatives,  but  only  exercise  them  more  perfectly 
through  them. 

4)  Others  have  objected  that  such  authority  as  we  grant  to 
Synods  is  inconsistent  with  the  supremacy  of  the  Bible  as  the  Rule 
of  faith.  We  grant  that  no  governing  body  has  an  independent 
authority  over  the  conscience,  and  all  decisions  bind  the  conscience 
only  because  they  are  conformed  to  the  Word  of  God — so  far  and 
no  farther. 

5)  The  authority  claimed  for  Synods  is  not  in  conflict  with 
the  right  of  private  judgment. 

6)  It  is  not  in  conflict  with  the  right  of  minorities. 

a)  The  minority  has  the  right  of  debate;  b)  the  right  of  pro- 
test; c)  the  right  of  withdrawal,  after  the  final  failure  of  all  modes 
of  redress,  when  the  wrong  involves  matters  of  faith  or  of  moral 
principles. 

7.  Though  it  is  possible  that  a  minority  may  be  right,  this 
does  not  settle  the  question. 

a)  There  must  be  government  of  some  kind.  If  a  final 
decision  is  to  be  made,  it  is  unanimous,  or  the  minority  must  rule 
the  majority,  or  the  majority  rule  the  minority. 

b)  All  other  things  being  equal,  it  is  more  probable  that  a 
minority  is  wrong  than  that  the  majority  is  wrong. 

c)  If  the  many  may  not  rule  because  a  minority  may  be  right, 
then  all  government  of  the  Family,  of  the  State  or  of  the  Church 
goes  to  the  ground,  and  we  are  left  in  anarchy. 

d)  Such  postulates,  starting  in  an  extreme  and  mistaken 
Protestantism,  or  ultra  Congregationalism,  or  Individualism,  pre- 
pare the  minds  of  men  for  Romanism,  for  she  postulates  and 
assumes  that  we  are  not  to  establish  authority  unless  we  can  prove 
it  to  be  infallible. 

e)  Men  get  weary  of  arguing  that  as  no  government  is  infal- 
lible they  will  do  without  any,  and  in  the  feeling  of  the  misery  of 
such  a  position,  are  ready  to  rush  to  Rome  because  she  claims 
infallibility. 

8)  Constitutions  should  carefully  define  the  circumstances 
under  which  decisions  are  final  beyond  all  possibility  of  repeal. 

9)  To  refer  questions,  decided  by  general  bodies,  to  the 
individual  congregations,  is  to  overthrow  the  whole  proper  intent 
of  such  general  bodies.  They  may  freely  refer  questions  to  dis- 
tinct Synods,  or  congregations,  or  individuals,  for  their  well  con- 
sidered advice;  and  there  may  be  classes  of  questions  which  for 


LUTHERAN  CHURCH  POLITY.  89 

good  reasons  may  be  required,  by  the  Constitution,  to  be  specially 
referred,  but  as  the  normal  and  ordinary  rule  it  is  wrong, — the 
very  existence  of  general  bodies  involving  the  assumption  that  the 
conjoint  deliberation  of  the  congregations  represented  is  more 
likely  to  reach  results  which  the  deliberate  final  judgment  of  the 
congregations  will  approve  than  if  they  acted  separately. 

lo)  Congregations  may  demand  constitutional  provisions  for 
the  reservation  of  certain  classes  of  topics  entirely  for  themselves, 
for  the  references  of  other  questions  to  them,  and  for  the  opinions 
of  the  congregations  previous  to  decisions. 

ii)  No  congregation  has  the  right  to  instruct  a  delegate  to 
speak  or  vote  contrary  to  his  conscience,  nor  to  instruct  him  to 
vote  in  a  certain  way  in  any  case,  while  it  is  possible  that  an  intel- 
ligent conviction  might  impel  him  to  vote  in  another  way.  Those 
who  represent  the  congregation  are  to  listen  in  its  place,  calmly 
weigh  facts  for  it,  allow  the  proper  influence  of  argument,  and  in 
no  case  to  vote  in  conflict  with  their  conscientious  convictions. 

"X.  In  the  formation  of  a  general  body,  the  Synods  may 
know  and  deal  with  each  other  only  as  Synods.  In  such  case  the 
official  record  is  to  be  accepted  as  evidence  of  the  doctrinal  posi- 
tion of  each  Synod,  and  of  the  principles  for  which  alone  the 
other  Synods  become  responsible  by  connection  with  it." 

"XI.  The  leading  objects  for  which  Synods  should  be  organ- 
ized are: 

"i.  The  maintenance  and  diffusion  of  sound  doctrine,  as  the 
same  is  taught  in  God's  Word  and  confessed  in  the  authorized 
standards  of  the  Church. 

"2.  When  controversies  arise  in  regard  to  articles  of  faith,  to 
decide  them  in  accordance  with  God's  Word  and  the  pure  confes- 
sions of  that  Word. 

"3.  The  proper  regulation  of  the  human  externals  of  wor- 
ship, that  the  same,  in  character  and  administration,  may  be  in 
keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testament  and  with  the  liberty 
of  the  Church,  and  may  edify  the  Body  of  Christ. 

'  '4.  The  maintenance  of  pure  discipline,  to  the  fostering  of 
holiness  and  fidelity  in  the  ministry  and  people. 

"5.  The  devising  and  executing  of  wise  and  Scriptural 
counsels  and  plans  for  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  Church,  in 
every  department  of  beneficent  labor  for  the  souls  and  bodies  of 
men  at  home  and  abroad. 

"All  these  things  are  to  be  done,  that  the  saving  power  of  the 
Gospel  may  be  realized,  that  good  order  may  be  maintained,  and 
that  all  unsoundness  in  faith  and  life  may  be  averted,  that  God 
may  be  glorified,  and  that  Christ  our  King  may  rule  in  a  pure, 
peaceful  and  active  Church." 

127.  Two  extreme  views  of  the  ideal  Lutheran  Church 
Polity. 

1.  Among  the  many  able  works  on  Lutheran  Church  Polity 
which  have  appeared  within  the  last  fifty  years,  two  of  them 
that  take  the  highest  rank  represent  directly  opposite  views. 

2.  Stahl,  one  of  the  most  illustrious  jurists  and  statesmen  of 
his  day,  in  his  masterly  work  Die  Kirchenverfassung;  etc.  {2d 


90  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

ed.,  1862,)  presents  the  hierarchical  view,  while  Walther  in  his 
able  work  Kirche  luid  Amt  (2d  ed.,  1865,)  emphasizes  the  rights 
of  the  congregation. 

3.  In  order  that  we  may  clearly  understand  the  points  of  the 
controversy  at  issue,  we  will  present  Stahl's  criticism  of  the  views 
of  Dr.  Walther  and  of  the  Missouri  Synod,  largely  as  a  matter  of 
historical  interest. 

128.     Stahl's  review  of  Walther's  Kirche  und  Ami. 

1.  "Prof.  Walther,  who  holds  the  chair  of  Theology  at  St. 
Louis,  attempts  a  sort  of  genuine  middle  way  between  the  theory 
that  the  ministry  is  from  God  and  the  ministry  is  from  the  congre- 
gation." 

2.  "He  lays  down  these  theses: 

"  'I.  The  Holy  Ministry  or  Pastorate  is  an  ofifice  distinct  from 
the  priestly  ofi&ce  which  all  believers  have.' 

"  'II.  The  Ministry  or  Pastorate  is  no  human  arrangement, 
but  an  office  founded  by  God  Himself. ' 

"  'III.  The  ministry  is  no  arbitrary  office,  but  an  office 
whose  establishment  is  enjoined  upon  the  Church  and  to  which 
the  Church,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  bound  to  the  end  of 
time.'" 

3.  "Again  he  lays  down  the  following  theses: 

"  'VI.  The  ministry  is  committed  by  God  through  the  congre- 
gation, which  is  the  possessor  of  all  Church  power,  or  the  power 
of  the  keys,  and  through  its  divinely  prescribed  call.'. . . . 

"  'VII.  The  Holy  Ministry  is  the  power  committed  by  God 
through  the  congregation  as  the  possessor  of  the  priesthood  and  of 
all  Church  power,  to  exercise  the  rights  of  the  spiritual  priest- 
hood in  a  public  office  in  the  common  interest. '  " 

4.  Stahl  comments  as  follows: 

i)  "Consequently  Walther  teaches  the  divine  institution  of 
the  office,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  the  derivation  of  its  rights  and 
powers  by  consignment  of  the  congregation  as  their  original 
possessor." 

2)  "In  this  doctrine  the  idea  of  a  congregational  assignment 
is  totally  unnecessary.  Hoeflinghad  need  of  it,  because  he  does  not 
recognize  the  office  as  of  God  and  considers  the  office  as  given  in 
the  universal  priesthood.  But  if  the  office  be  one  distinct  from  the 
priesthood,  and  is,  as  such,  instituted  of  God  Himself,  what  need 
is  there  of  a  derivation  of  its  authority  from  a  congregational  assign- 
ment?.... In  this  doctrine  the  idea  of  a  congregational  assign- 
ment is  without  significance  and  vain.  What  does  it  amount  to, 
what  interest  is  subserved,  by  saying  that  the  congregation  has 
committed  to  it  the  powers  of  the  office,  when  it  is  yet  God's 
arrangement  that  these  powers  should  be  exercised  through  the 
office,  and  that  the  congregation  itself  dare  not  exercise  them? 
....  Only  in  one  case  can  it  involve  any  interests  and  cease  to  be 
useless,  to  wit,  when  it  is  claimed,  that  the  congregation  from 
which  the  power  is  derived,  stands  above  the  office,  and  though  it 
dare  not  itself  exercise  the  powers,  yet  can  sit  in  judgment  on 
the  way  in  which  they  are  exercised  through  the  office,  and  make 
a  new  arrangement." 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   POLITY.  91 

3.  '  'This  idea  of  popular  sovereignty  was  laid  down  already  in 
the  parochial  order  of  Missouri  (1839,  1840),  according  to  which 
'the  congregation  is  the  supremest  and  last  tribunal  in  the  Church 
and  has  the  right  to  depose  its  preachers.'  " 

4.  "In  this  practical  result,  this  doctrine  amounts  to  about 
the  same  as  Hoefling's. " 

5.  "The  argument  for  the  doctrine  is  no  better  than  its  sub- 
stance.    Walther  produces  two  proofs  for  it: 

i)  That  the  keys  were  given  by  God  immediately  to  the 
congregation; 

2)  That  the  Apostle  Matthias  and  the  deacons  were  elected 
by  the  whole  multitude  of  the  assembled  believers. 

6.  Walther  says:  "As  the  congregation  or  assembly  of 
believers  has  the  keys  and  the  priesthood  immediately  (Matt. 
18:15-20;  I  Pet.  2:5-10),  it  is  it  andean  be  none  but  it,  through 
which,  to  wit,  by  its  election,  call,  and  sending,  the  ministry, 
which  openly  administers  the  office  of  the  keys  and  all  priestly 
functions  in  the  congregation,  is  committed  to  certain  properly- 
fitted  persons.  Hence  also  we  read  that  the  Apostle  Matthias 
himself  was  chosen  not  by  the  eleven  alone,  but  by  the  whole  mul- 
titude of  believers  (Acts  1:15-26)." 

7.  Stahl  says:  "The  first  statement  that  the  keys  were  given 
immediately  to  the  congregation  is  no  proof,  but  merely  an  asser- 
tion of  the  thing  to  be  proved.  It  is  a  begging  of  the  question. 
From  the  passages  quoted  from  Scripture  it  follows  as  we  have 
shown  (in  his  own  work),  not  that  the  keys  were  immediately 
given  to  the  Church  and  then  only  transferred  from  the  Church  to 
the  office,  but  in  accord  with  the  commonly  received  exposition, 
that  they  zve^'e given  to  the  07'ga7iized  Church  aiid  consequently 
immediately  by  God  to  the  office^  the  ministry  as  the  executive 
member  in  it.'' 

(Here  Stahl  presents  his  own  theory). 

8.  Stahl  continues:  "Now  by  the  congregation  Walther  cer- 
tainly understands  actual  believers,  'those  who  stand  with  Peter 
upon  the  rock,' — consequently  the  invisible  Church,  and  not  the 
Church  as  an  institution.  There  is  thus  lacking  every  applica- 
tion to  the  congregation  actually  established  and  the  validity  of 
the  ministry  throughout  hinges  upon  the  question  whether  the 
congregation  assigning  it  actually  stands  upon  the  rock." 

9.  As  to  the  second  argument  Stahl  remarks:  "The  second 
proof,  that  according  to  the  N.  T.  narrative  the  congregation  had 
the  appointment  of  officers,  is  not  historically  correct,  not  even 
with  the  mitigation  which  Walther  adds,  that  the  ministry  already 
existing  in  these  congregations  had  a  part  in  these  elections.  It  is 
placed  beyond  all  doubt  that  in  the  Apostolic  and  subsequent  era 
the  congregation  did  not  have  the  appointment,  but  only  a  concur- 
rence in  the  appointment,  and  that  the  authority  of  the  existing 
office,  not  merely  that  existing  in  this  or  that  particular  congrega- 
tion, but  of  the  office  existing  in  the  Church  in  general,  formed 
an  essential  factor  for  this,  not  merely  as  consenting,  but  as 
testing  and  confirming,  and  in  the  proper  sense,  assigning  the 
office." 


92  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

10.  Stahl  continues:  *  'If  it  were  historically  correct  as  Walther 
puts  it,  nay  if  we  had  an  express  and  clear  command  of  God,  that 
the  congregations  were  to  choose  the  preachers  by  mere  numerical 
majorities  and  independent  of  every  testing  and  confirmation  by  a 
higher  authority,  still  the  derivation  of  the  powers  from  an  assign- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  congregation  would  not  follow  from  this. 
Two  wholly  distinct  things  are  here  confounded,  one  that  the 
congregations  choose  the  persons  for  the  office,  and  the  other  that 
the  authority  of  the  ofiQce  is  derived  from  the  congregation." 

11.  Further  on  he  says:  "Walther  has  the  merit  of  having 
collected  from  the  sources  rich  material  on  the  subject  of  his  book. 
He  has  also,  as  it  seems,  put  forth  an  honest  effort  to  moderate 
the  radical  tendency.  But  these  unimportant  mitigations,  which 
do  not  affect  the  principles  in  question,  offer  no  barrier  to  radi- 
calism, but  on  the  contrary,  aid  it." 

12.  After  characterizing  in  general  the  tendency  of  Missouri, 
he  adds:  "The  congregation  is  the  highest,  the  ultimate  tribunal 
in  the  Church,  and  the  preachers  are  its  servants,  and  accountable 
to  it.  Then  further  is  brought  forward  the  Calvinistic  fable  that 
according  to  God's  Word,  lay-elders  were  given  the  congregations 
of  the  Apostolic  Church,  who  then  administered  their  office  by 
divine  right,  in  virtue  of  the  divine  institution  of  it,  and  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  congregation  ordained  by  it." 

13.  After  a  still  further  description  of  this  congregational 
rule,  Stahl  adds:  "This  is  nothing  more  than  the  North-American 
Democracy  and  the  spirit  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  trans- 
ferred to  the  Church,  and  this  is  given  out  as  Lutheranism." 

129.     Some  Annotations  on  Stahl's  Review  of  Walther. 

1.  If  the  Democracy  of  America  has  had  its  influence  on 
Walther,  the  absoluteness  of  the  Court  has  also  tinged  Stahl. 

2.  Both  the  theory  of  Walther  and  the  criticism  of  Stahl 
must  stand  upon  their  own  merits,  without  reference  to  the  politi- 
cal theories  with  which  each  may  be  in  consonance. 

3.  Dr.  Walther  and  the  Missouri  Synod  certainly  deserve 
the  most  cordial  admiration  for  their  effort  to  bring  forth  the  con- 
gregational life  of  our  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country.  In  this 
they  must  command  the  heartiest  sympathy  even  of  those  who 
cannot  accept  all  their  theories,  nor  justify  all  their  measures. 

4.  Stahl's  acquaintance  with  the  governmental  views  and 
practice  of  our  country  does  not  seem  to  be  very  deep.  Nothing 
is  remoter  from  the  spirit  of  our  Constitution,  both  as  a  nation  and 
State,  than  the  idea  of  a  direct,  unmixed  democracy. 

5.  The  ideal  government  in  the  Missouri  Synod  is  not  the 
ideal  of  our  American  Fathers  of  early  times,  nor  of  our  great 
statesmen,  nor  of  the  sober  part  of  our  people.  The  government 
of  America  is  not  a  simple  democracy,  but  is  republican.  The 
people  in  no  instance  rule  directly.  No  assembly  of  the  people 
makes  the  laws,  enforces  the  laws,  or  executes  the  laws.  We  have 
a  representative  law-giving  body,  a  representative  law-enforcing 
body,  and  a  representative  executive.  And  in  every  case  our  rep- 
resentatives are  not  merely  mechanical  organs  of  the  popular  will, 
but  they  are  representative  of  the  people. 


LUTHERAN   CHURCH   POLITY.  93 

6.  The  excess  of  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty,  con- 
gregational independency,  is  doubtless  the  result  of  reaction 
against  pressure,  and  is  in  consonance  with  a  certain  extravagance 
and  one-sidedness  which  are  the  defects  of  the  entire  Missouri 
tendency. 

7.  On  the  question  of  the  lay-eldership,  Dr.  Walther  and  his 
Synod  have  fallen  into  a  lamentable  mistake,  which  will  go  far  to 
cast  suspicion  upon  the  thoroughness  of  their  learning  and  the 
soundness  of  their  reasoning  in  every  direction  on  the  question  of 
the  ministry. 


94  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 


XIV.     Literature. 

The  Literature  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church  is  very  exten- 
sive. McElhinney,  in  his  work  on  The  Doctrine  of  the  Church, 
gives  a  Hst  of  873  titles  up  to  1870,  while  Dexter,  in  his  standard 
work,  Cojigregatioyialism  as  seeyi  in  its  Literature,  gives  the 
titles  and  bibliographical  notes  of  7,250  books,  covering  the  period 
from  1546  to  1879.  We  will  refer  to  very  few  of  these,  unless 
standard  works,  limiting  the  list  to  the  more  important  books  on 
this  subject  published  since,  and  arranging  them  under  special 
topics. 

I.     General  Works. 

1.  Ante-Nicene  Fathers.     10  vols.     1885-1896. 

2.  Bennett,  Christiayi  Archceology.     2d  ed.     1898. 

3.  Landon,  Manual  of  Couyicils  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church.     2  vols.     2d  ed.      1893. 

4.  Neander  (Robinson),  Planting  and  Trainitig  of  the 
Christian  Church.      1864. 

5.  Nicene  arid  Post-Nicene  Fathers.  First  Series.  14  vols. 
1886-1890. 

6.  Nicene  and  Post-Niceyie  Fathers.  Second  Series.  14 
vols.     1 890- 1 900. 

7.  Richter,  Lehrbuch  des  kath.  und  evang.  JCirchenrechts, 
gth  ed.,  by  Kahl,  1886. 

8.  Schafif,  Creeds  of  Christendom,     3  vols.     1881. 
g.     Schaff-Herzog,  Eyicycloficedia.     3  vols.     1882. 

10.  Smith  and  Cheetham,  Dictionary  of  Christiayi  Antiqui- 
ties.    2  vols.     1876. 

11.  Smith  and  Wace,  Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography. 
4  vols.     1877. 

2.     History  of  Doctrines. 

1.  Cunningham,  Historical  Theology,  etc.  2  vols.  2d  ed. 
1864. 

2.  Crippen,  Popular  Lntrod.  to  History  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine. 1883. 

3.  Fisher,  History  of  Christiayi  Doctrine.     1896. 

4.  Hagenbach,  History  of  Doctrines  (H.  B.  Smith).  2  vols. 
1861. 

5.  Hagenbach,  History  of  Doctrines  (Plumptre).  3  vols. 
1880,  1881. 

6.  Neander,  History  of  Christian  Dogmas.    2  vols.     1878. 

7.  Schvaid,  Lehrbuch  des  Dogmengeschichte.    4th  ed.    1887. 

8.  Seeberg,  Lehrbuch  des  Dogmengeschichte.  2  vols. 
1895,  1898. 

g.     Sheldon,  History  of  Christian  Doctrine.     2  vols.     1885. 
10.     Thomasius,  Die  Dogm,engeschichte,  etc.     2  vols.     1874, 
1876. 

3.     General  Doctrinal  Works. 

i)     Ba;ptist. 

1.  "Boy CQ,  Abstract  of  Systematic  Theology.     1887. 

2.  Dagg,  Manual  of  Theology.     1859. 


LITERATURE.  95 


3.  Hovey,  Manual  of  Systematic  Theolo§-y,  etc.     1877. 

4.  Johnson,  Outliiie  of  Systematic  Theology.     1891. 

5.  Strong,  Systematic  Theology.     4th  ed.     1893. 

2)  Congregational. 

6.  Denney,  Studies  in  Theology.     1895. 

7.  Fairbairn,  Place  of  Christ  in  Moderti  Theology.      1890. 

8.  Finney,  Lectures  on  Systematic  Theology.     1878. 

9.  Pond,  Lectures  on  Christian  Theology.     1867. 

10.  Stearns,  Present  Day  Theology.     1893. 

3)  Disciffles  of  Christ  (Christians,  or  Campbellites,  or 

Campbellite  Baptists). 

11.  Campbell,  Alex.,  The  Christian  System,. 

4)  {Dutch)  Reformed  Church  in  America. 

12.  Kuyper,   The  Work  of  the  Holy  S;pirit.     1900. 

13.  Van  Oosterzee,  Christian  Dogmatics.     2  vols.     1874. 

5)  Church  of  England  {E^isco^al). 

14.  Buel,  Systematic  Theology.     1889. 

15.  Cutts,  Some  Chief  Truths  of  Religion, 

16.  Hooker,  Ecclesiastical  Polity  {1594).     3  vols.     1845. 

17.  Maclear,  Lntroduction  to  the  Creeds.     1895. 

18.  Maclear  and  Williams,    Introductioyi  to  the  Articles  of 
Church  of  Eyiglayid.      1895. 

19.  Mason,  The  Faith  of  the  Gosf  el.     1887. 

20.  Moule,  Outlines  of  Christian  Doctrine.      1892. 

21.  Norris,  Riidiments  of  Theology.     1876. 

22.  Pearson,  Exposition  of  the  Creed  (1659),  1859. 

23.  Percival,  A  Digest  of  Theology.     1893. 

24.  Sadler,  Church  Doctrine,  Bible  Truth.     1869. 

25.  ^\xong,'Y\ion\.2&'Q.,  Manual  of  Theology.     1893. 

6)  {German)  Reformed  Church. 

26.  Ebrard,  Christ.  Dogmatic.    2d.  ed.    2  vols.    1863. 

27.  Gerhart,  Lnstitutes  of  the  Christian  Religion.     2  vols. 
1891-94. 

28.  Heppe,  Dogm.  der  evang.  reform.  Kirche.     1861. 

29.  Lange,  Cht'ist.  Dogmatik.     3  vols.     1870. 

7)  Mediating  Lutheran. 

30.  Tioxx^QX,  System  of  Christian  Doctrine.     4  vols.   1880-82. 

31.  Martensen,  Christian  Dogmatics.     1866. 

32.  Nitzsch,   System  of  Christian  Doctrine.     1849. 

33.  Rothe,    Theologische  Ethik.     2d  ed.  5  vols.   1867-62. 

8)  Confessio7ial  Lutheran. 

34.  Baier,   Compendium  TheoL  Positives.  (Walther).    3  vols. 
1879. 


96  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 


35.  Bjorling,  Den  Christ.  Dogmatiken.     (Swedish).     3  vols. 
1866. 

36.  Bring,   Christ.  Troslaeran.  Lund,   1877. 

37.  Frank,   System  der  Christ.     Wahrheit.    3d.  ed.    2  vols. 
1894. 

38.  Hase,  Hutterus  Redivivus,   12th  ed.     1883. 

39.  Jacobs,  Elemetits  of  Religion.     1894. 

40.  Johnson,  Grundrids  af  deyi  Syst.  Theologi.  (Norwegian). 

41.  Krauth,   Conservative  Reformation.     1871. 

42.  Lindberg,  Encheiridion  i  Dogmatik.     1898.     (Swedish). 

43.  Luthardt,  Die  Christ.  Glauheyislehre.     1898. 

44.  Luthardt,  Kom^endium  der  Dogmatik,    loth  ed.     igoo. 

45.  Oettingen,  Luth.  Dogmatik.     2  vols.     1897-99. 

46.  Philippi,  Kirch.  Glauhenslehre.    6  vols.     3d  ed.    1883-90. 

47.  Schmid,  Doct.    Theology  of  the  Lutheran  Church.     3d 
ed.     1899. 

48.  Thomasius,  Christi  Person  und  Werk.     3d  ed.     2  vols. 
1888. 

49.  Vilmar,  Dogmatik.     2  vols.     1874. 

9)  Methodist. 

50.  Field,  Handbook  of  Christian  Theology.     1887. 

51.  Foster,   Studies  in  Theology.     3  vols.      1881, 

52.  Miley,   Systematic  Theology.     2  vols.     1894. 

53.  Pope,   Comfendium,    of    Christian    Theology.     3   vols. 
1881. 

54.  Pope,  Higher  Catechism  of  Theology.     1884. 

55.  Raymond,   Systematic  Theology.     3  vols.     1879. 

56.  Watson,    Theological  Institutes.     2  vols.     1850. 

10)  Moravians. 

57.  Plitt,  Evangelische  Glauhenslehre.     2  vols.     1863. 

11)  Presbyterian. 

58.  Calvin,  Institutes  of  the    Christiayi  Religion.     3  vols. 
1846. 

59.  Dabney,    Theology^    Dogmatic  and  Polemic,      3d    ed. 
1885. 

60.  Hodge,  A.  A.,   Outlines  of  Theology.     1882. 

61.  Hodge,  Charles,   Systematic  Theology.     3  vols.     1873. 

62.  Shedd,  Dogmatic  Theology.     3  vols.     1894. 

63.  Smith,  H.  B.,  System  of  Christiayi  Theology.      1892. 

12)  Roman  Catholic. 

64.  Aquinas,  Thomas,  Summa  TheologiccB.     8  vols.     1876. 

65.  Berington  and  Kirk,  Faith  of  Catholics  Confirmed,  etc. 
3  vols.  1885. 

66.  Di  Bruno,    Catholic  Belief.     1900. 

67.  Gibbons,   Faith  of  our  Fathers.     36th  ed.     1890 

68.  Hunter,  Outlines  of  Dogmatic  Theology.    3  vols.    1898. 


LITERATURE.  97 

6g.     Hurter,    Theologicoe  Dogmatical  Compendium.     3  vols. 
5th  ed.     1885. 

70.  Perrone,  Praelectiones  TheologiccB  Compendium,  Redac- 
tce.     2  vols.     36th  ed.     1881. 

71.  Schouppe,  Course  of  Religious  Instruction  for  Catholic 
Colleges,  etc. 

72.  Searle,  Plai7i  Facts,  etc.     426th  thousand.     1902. 

73.  Tanquerey,  Theologia  Fundam,entalis  (Aquinas),     i  vol. 

74.  Tanquerey,    Theologia  Specialis  (Aquinas).     2  vols. 

75.  Wiseman,    Principle,    Doctrines  and  Practices  of  the 
Catholic  Church.     6th  ed.     1862. 

13)     Greek  Catholic. 

76.  Macaire,  Theologie  Dogmatique  Orthodoxe.  2  vols.  1859. 
Paris. 

4.     Special  Works  on  the  Church  and  Church  Polity. 

i)     Episcopal  or  Anglican. 

1.  Bilson,    Perpetual   Government  of    ChrisVs     Church. 
(1593),  1842. 

2.  Field,  Of  the  Church.    Five  Books.    (1606-1610.)    4  vols, 
1854. 

3.  Gore,    The  Church  and  the  Mifustry.     1893. 

4.  Haddan,  Apostolic  Succession  in  the  Church  of  England. 
1869. 

5.  Hatch,  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches. 
1880. 

6.  Jacob,    The  Ecclesiastical  Polity  of  the  N.  T.     1872. 

7.  Jewel,  Apology  of  the  Ch7irch  of  England.     (1562.) 
Often.  (25  cents.) 

8.  Lightfoot,  "The  Christian  Ministry"  in  Comm.  on  Philip- 
fians.  1868. 

9.  Maurice,   Kingdom  of  Christ.     2  vols.     1842. 

10.  McElhinney,  The  Doctrine  of  the  Church.  A  Historical 
Monograph.     1871. 

11.  Nowell,    Catechism.     (1570),   1839. 

12.  Palmer,  A   Treatise  on  the  Church  of  Christ.     2  vols. 
1842. 

13.  Salmon,  The  Infallibility  of  the  Church.     1888. 

2)     Congregationalism. 

14.  Cathcart,  Baptist  Eticyclopcedia.     1880. 

15.  Cummings,  Dictionary  of  Congregational  Usages  and 
Principles.     5th  ed.     1854. 

16.  Dale,  Manual  of  Congregational  Principles.     1884. 

17.  Dagg,   Church  Order  (Baptist).     1859. 

18.  Dexter,    Congregationalism,  etc.    5th  ed.     1879. 

19.  Dexter,  Congregationalism . .  .as  seen  in  its  Literature. 
1880. 

20.  Ladd,  Principles  of  Church  Polity.     1882. 


98  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

21.  Reynolds     (Editor),    Ecdesia,     Church    Problems,    etc. 
(Congregational.)     2  vols.     1870,  1871. 

22.  Rogers,    Church  Systems  in  Eyigland  iyi  igth  Ceyit.  1881. 

23.  Walker,   Creeds  and  Platforms  of  Co^igregationalism,. 
1893. 

24.  Wayland,    Princi;ples   and  Practices   of   the  Baptists. 

1857- 

3)  Lutheran  Protestantism,. 

25.  Beste,  Martin  Luther'' s  Glaubeyislehre.     Halle.     1845, 

26.  Delitzsch,    Vier  Buecher  von  der  Kirche.     1847. 

27.  Dieckhoff,  Luther^s  Lehre  v.  der  Kirchl.    Gezvalt.    1865. 

28.  Distiyictive  Doctrines  and  Usages  of  the  Evajig,  LuiJu 
Church  in  U.  S.      1893. 

29.  Dove-Richter,   Lehrb.    d.    Kathol.    u.    evang.    Kirchen- 
rechts.     7th  ed.     1874, 

30.  Graul,   Distinctive  Doct7'ines,  etc.      1897. 

31.  Harless,   Kirche  und  Amt  nach  luth.     Lehre.     1853. 

32.  Harless,  Etliche  gezvissenfragen,  Kirche,  Kirchenam.t, 
etc.     1862. 

33.  Harnack,  Die  Kirche,  ihr  Amt.,  etc.     1862. 

34.  Harnack,   Praktische   Theologie.     2  vols.     1877. 

35.  Von  Hofmann,  Vermischte  Aifsaetze.     1878. 

36.  Hoefling.    Grund.  der  evang.  luth.  Kirchefiverfassung. 
ed.  3.  1853. 

37.  Jacobs,  Book  of  Concord.     2  vols.     1882,  1883. 

38.  Jacobs  and  Haas,  Lutheran  Cyclopaedia.     1899. 

39.  Kliefoth,   Acht  Buecher  von  der  Kirche.     1854. 

40.  Koestlin,    Luther's  Lehre  von  der  Kirche.     1853. 

41.  Koestlin,    Theology  of  Luther.     2  vols.      1897. 

42.  Loehe,    Drei  Bucher  von  der  Kirche,  etc.     1845. 

43.  Loehe,   A^horismen  ueber  die  N.  T.  Aemter,  etc.      1849. 

44.  Loehe,    Kirche  und  Amt,  7ieue  Aphorismen.     1853. 

45.  Loy,    The  Christiayi  CMirch,  etc.     1896. 

46.  Mueller,   Die  Symbolische  Buecher.     7th  ed.     1890. 

47.  Muenchmeyer,  Das  Amt.  des  N.  T.,  etc.     1853. 

48.  Muenchmeyer,    Das   Dogma  der  sicht.    und    utisicht. 
Kirche.     1854. 

49.  Richter,    Geschichle    der  Evang.    Kirchenverfassung. 
1851. 

50.  Stahl,  Die  Kirchenfassung  nach  Lehre  und  Recht  der 
Prot.  2d  ed.     1862. 

51.  Stahl,   Die  Luth.  Kirche  und  die  Union.     2d  ed.      i860. 

52.  Walther,  Die   Stimme   unserer   Kirche ....  Kirche   und 
Amt.  2d  ed.     1865. 

53.  Zezschwitz,  System  der  Prakt.  Theologie.     1878. 

4)  Presbyterianism. 

54.  Anderson,    Defeyice  of  the   Church    Government ...  .of 
the  Presbyterians.     (1714),  1820. 


LITERATURE.  99 

55.  Bannerman,  (James,)  The  Church  of  Christy  etc.     2  vols. 
1868. 

56.  Bannerman,   (Douglas),   The   Scripture  Doctrine  of  the 
Church.     1887. 

57.  Binnie,    The  Church.     1882. 

58.  Brown,  Vindication  of  the  Presb.  Form  of  Ch.  Govern- 
ment. 1805. 

59.  Candlish,    The  Kingdom  of  God,  etc.     1884. 

60.  Coleman,  Ancient  Christianity  Exemplified.     1875. 

61.  Coleman,  Mamial  07i  Prelacy  and  Ritualism,  etc.     1871. 

62.  Corwin,  A  Manual  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America. 
4th  ed.  1902. 

63.  Cunningham,    Discussion    on    Church    Principles,    etc. 
1863. 

64.  Hodge,     Constitutional   History    of   the    Presbyterian 
Church.     2  vols.     1839-40. 

65.  Hodge,  Discussions  on  Church  Polity.     1879. 

66.  Killen,    The  Framework  of  the  Church,  etc.     1890. 

67.  King,  Defence  of  the  Presb.  Form  of  Ch.  Government. 
1854. 

68.  McGill,    Church  Government.     1889. 

69.  Miller  and  Lorimer,  Manual  of  Presbytery.     1842. 

70.  Morris,  Ecclesiology,   a    Treatise  on    the   Church,    etc. 
1885. 

71.  Withrow,  Form  of  the  Christian  Temple.     1889. 

5)     Roman  Catholicism. 

72.  Addis  and  Arnold,    Catholic  Dictionary.     3d  ed.     1884. 

73.  Barnum,  Romanism  as  it  is.     1877. 

74.  Catechism   of  Council  of    Trent  (Trans,  by  Buckley). 
1852. 

75.  Chemnitz,  Examen  Concilii  Tridentini  (German  trans.). 

1875- 

76.  Cramp,  A   Text-Book  of  Pofery.     1831. 

77.  Doellinger,     Declarations      and    Letters    on     Vatican 
Degrees.     1891. 

78.  Gore,     Romaji  Catholic  Claims.     1889. 

79.  James,  Corruptions  of  Scripture,  Councils  and  Fathers 
(Cox).  1843. 

80.  'L.iiWediQXe,  Plain  Reaso7is  Against  foining  Rome.    1881. 

81.  Littledale,    The  Petritie  Claims.     1889. 

82.  Moehler,  Symbolism.     1844. 

83.  Roman  Symbols.     In   Schaff's  Creeds  of  Christendom. 
Vol.  2. 

84.  Specht,  Die  Lehre  von  der  Kirche,  etc.     1892, 


EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS 

ON 

ECCLESIOLOGY. 


I.     The  Doctrine  concerning  the  Church. 

1.  Why  is  this  subject  so  important? 

2.  How  may  we  define  the  Church  according  to  her  spiritual 
essence?  3.  What  is  the  Church  as  an  external  organization? 
4.  Distinguish  between  the  Roman  and  the  Protestant  concep- 
tion of  the  Church. 

I.       THE  SCRIPTURE    DOCTRINE. 

5.  What  three  Hebrew  words  are  used  in  the  O.  T.  to  desig- 
nate the  congregation  of  the  people  ?  6.  What  Greek  words  are 
used  in  the  Septuagint?  7.  How  may  we  distinguish  between 
qahal  dMd  edha?  8.  How  is  the  word  Synagogue  used  in  the 
N.  T.  ?  g.  In  what  three  senses  is  the  word  ecclesia  used  in 
the  N.  T.  ?  10.  What  is  the  derivation  of  the  word  church?  11. 
Show  that  the  word  ecclesia  in  the  N.  T.  is  often  used  to  denote 
the  entire  Church  universal.  12.  Show  that  it  is  also  often  used 
to  designate  local  congregations. 

a)     The   Teaching  of  Jesus, 

13.  How  does  Christ  use  the  word  church  in  Matt.  16:18? 
14.  In  Matt.  18:17?  15.  What  is  the  great  lesson  of  the  Para- 
ble of  the  Sower  ?  16.  Of  the  Parable  of  the  Tares?  17.  Of  the 
Parable  of  the  Mustard  Seed?  18.  Of  the  Parable  of  the 
Leaven?  19.  Of  the  Hidden  Treasure?  20.  Of  the  Pearl  of 
great  Price?     21.    Of  the  Draw-net? 

22.  Distinguish  between  the  Church  and  the  Kingdom  of 
God. 

23.  Show  that  Christ  regards  His  Kingdom  as  present  and 
yet  also  as  future. 

24.  Show  that  the  Church  has  a  divine  origin. 

25.  In  what  sense  is  it  Christ's  Kingdom  ? 

26.  Quote  and  explain  Luke  17:20. 

27.  Illustrate  the  close  union  between  Christ  and  the 
Church. 

28.  In  what  sense  is  the  Church  a  Kingdom  on  earth  ? 

29.  Show  that  the  Church  embraces  heaven  and  earth. 

30.  Distinguish  between  this  aeon  and  that  which  is  to 
come. 

31.  Show  that  there  is  even  now  a  kingdom  of  God  in 
heaven. 


102  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

32.  Trace  the  order  of  Christ's  establishing  of  His  Church. 

33.  Prove  that  Christ  maintains  and  guides  His  Church. 

34.  What   signs   give  manifestation  of   the  existence  of  the 
Church? 

35.  Shovir  that   the  Word  of   God  is  essentially  the  basis  of 
the  Church. 

36.  Show  that  baptism  is  also  the  way  to  Christ. 

37.  How  are  the  Word  and   Baptism  connected  in  bringing 
men  into  the  Kingdom? 

38.  How  are  the  Word  and  the  Lord's  Supper  connected  in 
strengthening  believers? 

39.  Name  the  three  means  of  grace. 

40.  Show  that  in  the  Church  on  earth  there  is  a  mixture  of 
good  and  evil. 

41.  Show  that  there  is  a  difference  between  the  ministry  and 
the  laity. 

42.  Show  that    the    destruction   of    Jerusalem   became    an 
epoch  in  the  development  of  the  Church. 

43.  What  is  the  great  lesson  of  the  Parable  of  "the  Seed 
growing  secretly"  ? 

44.  On  what  does   the   development   of  the   Church  largely 
depend  ? 

45.  Of  how  many  epochs  in   the  development  of  the  Church 
may  we  speak? 

46.  What  is  meant  by  the  last  epoch  ? 

47.  In  what  sense  is  the  Parousia  a  continuous  judgment? 

48.  How  does  it  differ  from  the  final  judgment? 

49.  When  was  the  Church  of  Christ  properly  founded  ? 

b)      The    Teaching  of  the  Apostles. 

50.  How,    according  to  Peter,  can  we  become   members  of 
the  Church  of  Christ? 

51.  How  is  the  unity  and  growth  of  the  Church  promoted? 

52.  What  figure  does  Peter  use  to  illustrate   the  building  up 
of  the  Church? 

53.  Explain   fully  i  Pet.  2:9,  10. 

54.  Show  that  the  Church  includes  believing  Jews  and  con- 
verted Gentiles. 

55.  In  what   sense  is  Christ  both   Shepherd   and  Bishop  of 
souls  ? 

56.  Where  does  Paul  develop  the  doctrine  of  the  Church? 

57.  In  what  three  senses  does  Paul  use  the  word  ecclesia. 

58.  Show  that   Paul   lays  great  stress   upon   baptism  as  the 
means  of  putting  us  into  living  fellowship  with  Christ. 

59.  Show  that  believers  became  one  body  in  Christ. 

60.  Show  that  the  first  churches  were  house  congregations. 

61.  What  did  the  Church  in  a  city  comprise? 

62.  What  is  meant  by  the  actual  Church? 

63.  What  is  meant  by  the  ideal  Church? 

64.  Explain   Paul's   figure,  that   the  Church  is  a  spiritual 
house  (i  Cor.  3:9-15). 


ECCLESIOLOGIA.  103 

65.  Explain  Eph.  2:20-22. 

66.  What  figure  with   reference   to   the  Church  does   Paul 
prefer? 

67.  Develop  his  teaching  on  this  point. 

68.  Distinguish  between  Paul's  teaching  that  the  Church  is 
the  body  of  Christ,  and  that  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  Church. 

69.  Develop  Paul's  teaching   that  the  Church  is  the  bride  of 
Christ. 

70.  When  will  the  marriage  take  place? 

71.  In  what  sense  is  the  Church  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth  (i  Tim.  3:15)? 

72.  On  what  does  the   existence  and  perpetuation   of   the 
Church  depend? 

73.  Summarize  the  teaching  of  John. 

II.       THE    CHURCH     DOCTRINE. 

I.      The  Ancient   Catholic  Church, 

74.  What   two  aspects  of  the  Church  have  been   recognized 
from  the  beginning? 

75.  Upon  what  aspect  did  the  early  Church  lay  stress? 

76.  What  three  great  names  are  identified  with  the  Ante- 
Nicene  development  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church? 

77.  What  position  did  Ignatius  take? 

78.  When  did  he  die? 

79.  Of  what  kind  of  episcopacy  does  Ignatius  speak? 

80.  When  did  Irenaeus  die? 

81.  How  does  he  regard  the  Episcopacy? 

82.  Why  was  he  so  anxious  to  make  out  a  list  of  bishops  in 
Rome? 

83.  How  does  Hatch  sum  up  the  tendency  at  the  close  of 
the  second  century? 

84.  What   do    the   Early   Fathers    teach    concerning    the 
Church? 

85.  What  position  did  Cyprian  take? 

86.  What  is  the  date  of  his  death? 

87.  What  is  his  theory  of  the  unity  of  the  Church? 

88.  Explain  more  fully  his  theory  of  the  sacerdotal  hierarchy 
of  the  bishops. 

89.  What  does  he  regard  as  the  source  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church? 

90.  How  does  the  bishop  receive  his  authority? 

91.  What   distinction   may   be   drawn   between  the  words 
ecclesia  and  congregation? 

92.  How  many  congregations  were  established  in  a  city  in 
early  Christian  times? 

93.  What  names  were  given  to  the  pastors  of  congregations? 

94.  How   are    the   words   Bishop    and  Presbyter  used  in 
the  N.  T.? 

95.  What  is  meant  hy  Jus  divinum  Presbyterianism? 


104  EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS, 

96.  "By  Jus  divimim  diocesan  Episcopacy? 

97.  How  many  ministerial  offices  are  known  in  the  N.  T.  ? 

98.  When  did  the  first  distinction  rise  between  the  terms 
elder  and  bishop? 

99.  Trace  the  origin  of  the  co7igregational  Episcopate. 
100.  Trace  the  development  of  the  diocesan  Episcopate. 
loi.     What  can  we  say  of  the  succession  of  Bishops  at  Rome? 

102.  What  was  Cyprian's  fundamental  error? 

103.  Show  that  the  Church  was,  after  all,  regarded  as  essen- 
tially invisible. 

104.  How  does  the  Apostles'  Creed  express  this? 

105.  The  Nicene  Creed? 

I.      The  Unity  of  the  Church. 

106.  What  does  Scripture  teach  concerning  the  unity  of  the 
Church? 

107.  In  what  five  figures  is  this  unity  set  forth? 

108.  In  what  way  was  this  true  idea  of  unity  soon  per- 
verted ? 

109.  In  what  treatise  did  Cyprian  develop  his  peculiar  doc- 
trine? 

no.  Explain  and  trace  the  change  in  meaning  in  the  three 
following  formulas: 

Scripture:     Out  of  Christ  there  is  no  salvation. 
Cyprian:     Out  of  the  Church  there  is  no  salvation. 
Rome:     Out  of  the  Roman  Church  there  is  no  salvation. 

111.  What  did  Augustine  teach ? 

112.  What  event  contradicted  this  conception  of  the  external 
unity  of  the  Church  ? 

II.      The  Holiness  of  the  Church. 

113.  In  what  sense  do  we  not  ascribe  holiness  to  the  Church? 

114.  Why  do  we  ascribe  holiness  to  the  Church? 

115.  What  does  Augustine  teach  concerning  the  Church? 

III.      The   Catholicity  of  the  Church. 

116.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  Catholic? 

117.  Why  is  the  word  Christian!  the  best  translation  cover- 
ing its  true  meaning? 

118.  Where  do  we  first  find  the  phrase  Catholic  Church? 

119.  How  do  the  Early  Fathers  use  the  word  Catholic  in 
respect  to  place? 

120.  In  respct  to  time? 

121.  In  respect  to  teaching? 

122.  Show  that  in  virtue  of  its  true  universality  the  Christian 
Church  has  a  unity  which  excludes  any  and  all  particular  churches 
which  have  risen  in  time  or  may  fall  in  time. 

123.  Show  that  all  particular  pure  churches  together  do  not 
make  up  the  Church  Universal. 


ECCLESIOLOGIA.  105 

IV,      The  A^ostolicity  of  the  Church. 

124.  Prove  from  Eph.  2:20  that  the  Church  is  ApostoHc. 

125.  In  what  sense  may  we  regard  the  Church  ApostoHc? 

126.  Why  did  the  Early  Fathers  emphasize  the  Apostohcity 
of  the  Church  ? 

127.  How  does  Tertullian  develop  this? 

128.  Where  does  Augustine  treat  of  this  subject? 

129.  To  what  did  this  train  of  thinking  finally  lead? 

130.  Why  is  this  conception  of  the  Apostolicity  of  the  Church 
erroneous  ? 

131.  In  what  sense  and  how  far  may  the  Church  be  regarded 
as  Apostolic? 

V.     Montanism,  Etc. 

132.  Define  Montanism. 

133.  What  was  its  special  aim? 

134.  What  its  errors? 

135.  What  was  the  tendency  known  as  Novatianism? 

136.  What  was  Donatism? 

137.  What  distinctions  was  Augustine  compelled  to  make  in 
his  conflict  with  the  Donatists? 

II.   THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

138.  What  does  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  teach  concern- 
ing the  Church  ? 

139.  What  does  Hildebrand  teach  ? 

140.  What  does  Boniface  VIII.  teach? 

141.  What  was  the  position  taken  by  Thomas  Aquinas? 

142.  By  Perrone? 

143.  What  does  the  Roman  Catechism  teach? 

144.  Who  is  the  greatest  of  all  Roman  controversialists  ? 

145.  What  does  this  writer  teach  of  the  Church? 

146.  What  does  Pope  Leo  XIII.  teach? 

147.  Name  the  four  characteristics  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  according  to  the  Roman  theory. 

148.  Name  her  four  marks,  according  to  the  Roman  theory. 

149.  How  does  the  Roman  Church  define  the  unity  of  the 
Church? 

150.  How  is  the  Holiness  of  the  Church  defined? 

151.  How  is  the  Catholicity  of  the  Church  defined? 

152.  How  is  the  Apostolicity  of  the  Church  defined? 

153.  How  many  marks  does  Bellarmine  ascribe  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church? 

154.  On  what  two  grounds  do  Roman  Catholic  theologians 
defend  the  Supremacy  of  the  Pope  ? 

155.  State  their  argument  on   the   ground  of  reason,  and 

answer  it. 

156.  State  the  four  reasons,  on  the  ground  of  authority,  on 
which  the  Catholic  theologians  rely,  to  prove  the  Supremacy  of 
the  Pope. 


106  EXAMINATION  QUESTIONS. 

157.  In  general,  what  three  statements  may  be  made  in 
reply  ? 

158.  On  what  three  passages  of  Scripture  does  the  Roman 
Church  base  this  doctrine? 

159.  Why  cannot  John  21:15-17  be  used  to  establish  their 
theory  of  Peter's  Jurisdiction? 

160.  Why  cannot  Luke  22:31,  32  be  used  to  establish  their 
doctrine  of  Peter's  infallibility  and  primacy? 

161.  What  does  Plumptre  say  of  the  Roman  exegesis  of 
Matt.  16:18? 

162.  How  many  general  reasons  are  given  to  show  that  the 
Roman  theory  cannot  be  deduced  from  Matt.  16:18? 

163.  State  the  first  three  reasons? 

164.  Show  that  the  whole  recorded  history  of  the  Early 
Church  is  opposed  to  such  a  theory. 

165.  Illustrate  by  two  historical  events  recorded  in  the  early 
chapters  of  Acts. 

166.  Name  three  other  important  historical  events  recorded 
in  Acts  that  show  that  Peter  did  not  have  such  a  supremacy. 

167.  Show  that  Peter  himself  never  claimed  such  authority. 

168.  Show  that  Paul  does  not  recognize  nor  know  of  any 
such  supremacy. 

169.  Show  that  certain  events  in  Peter's  personal  life  prove 
the  falsity  of  the  Roman  theory. 

170.  Why  is  there  no  foundation  whatever  for  such  a  theory? 

171.  Show  that  the  Roman  interpretation  of  the  word  rock 
in  Matt.  16:18  cannot  be  established.     (Five  points.) 

172.  What  do  you  have  to  say  of  the  interpretation  that  the 
roch  is  Christ? 

173.  Of  the  interpretation  that  the  rock  is  the  faith  and 
confession  of  Peter? 

174.  What  is  the  third  interpretation  of  this  passage? 

175.  What  does  Bengel  say  of  this  interpretation? 

176.  Meyer? 

177.  What  may  be  said  of  this  interpretation? 

178.  Show  that  the  Roman  Church  cannot  adduce  for  their 
interpretation  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Fathers. 

179.  What  conclusions  may  we  therefore  reach  with  refer- 
ence to  the  Roman  theory  of  the  Primacy  and  Jurisdiction  of 
Peter? 

180.  What  have  you  to  say  of  Peter's  Episcopacy  at  Rome? 

181.  What  does  Littledale  say  of  the  evidence  of  the  Pet- 
rine  claims  ? 

182.  What  is  the  real  basis  of  this  position  of  the  Roman 
Church  ? 

183.  Why  cannot  we  rely  on  this  statement? 

184.  When  is  this  claim  of  the  episcopate  of  Peter  first 
clearly  brought  forward? 

185.  Show  that  Peter  the  Apostle  could  not  have  been  a 
bishop. 

186.  Show  that  the  bishop  of  Rome  is  not  Peter's  successor. 


ECCLESIOLOGIA.  107 

187.  What  difficulty  arises  in   claiming  that   the  bishop  of 
Rome  succeeded  to  the  supposed  primacy  of  Peter? 

188.  When  did  the  Church  first  speak  of  a  visible  head? 

189.  Trace  the  development  of  the  claims  of  the   bishops  of 
Rome. 

190.  What  is  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  any  kind  of  primacy  ? 

191.  Show  that  this  Roman  primacy  was   positively  rejected 
by  the  Council  of  Calcedon  (451  A,  D.). 

192.  What  testimony  does  a  Roman  Catholic  writer   bear  to 
this  whole  question  of  Papal  authority  ? 

193.  What    do  you  have   to  say  of  the  doctrine    of  Papal 
Infallibilty? 

194.  Show  from  history  that  the  Popes  were   not   infallible. 

195.  What  do  you  know  of  Abelard's  work  Sic  et  Non  ? 

196.  Of  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  ? 

197.  What  testimony  have  we  concerning  the  character   of 
the  Popes  during  the  tenth  century? 

198.  What  theories  have  been   held  with   reference  to  this 
infallibility  of  the  Church  ? 

199.  How  adroitly  was  this  managed  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Vatican  Council  in  1870? 

200.  What  do  you  have  to  say  of  the  continued    Inspiration 
theory  of  the  Roman  Church? 

201.  What  do  you   have  to  say,  in   general,  of  the  Roman 
marks  of  the  Church  ? 

202.  Of  the  name  Catholic? 

203.  Of  their  mark  antiquity? 

204.  Of  their  mark  abiding  duration? 

205.  Oi  iheh  m.2ir\i  sticcession  ofbisho;ps? 

206.  Of  their  mark  afostolicity? 

207.  Of  their  mark  beinq  under  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Po;pe  ? 

208.  Show  that  even  in  the  Church  of  Rome  there  has  been 
no  true  external  unity. 

209.  Discuss  their  mark  sanctity  of  doctrine. 

209.  Their  mark  efficacy  of  doctri^ie. 

210.  1\iQ\r  Ti\d,x\i  satictity  of  life. 

211.  What  may  be  said  of  the  marks  brought  forward  by 
Bellarmine. 

III.      The  P7'otesta7it  Church. 

212.  In  what  does  the  weak  point  of  Protestantism  lie? 

213.  On     what  did    the   leaders  of    the    two  branches  of 
Protestantism  divide  ? 

214.  How  did  Rome  take  advantage  of  this? 

215.  In  what,  in  general,  does  the  cause  of  Protestant  divi- 
sions lie? 

216.  What  was  the  first  main  point  on  which  the  Lutheran 
and  Reformed  theologians  differed? 

217.  How  did  this  influence  practical  life? 

218.  In  what  sense  may  we  compare  Protestantism  with 
Romanism? 


108  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

2ig.  How  does  the  Lutheran  Church  state  her  fundamental 
principle  on  this  point? 

220.  What  is  the  second  main  point  on  which  the  Lutheran 
and  Reformed  Churches  differ? 

IV.     Lutherayi  Protestanism. 

'2.i\.  Name  the  Confessional  Books  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

222.  In  what  part  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  discussed? 

223.  Of  what  does  Art.  VII.  of  A.  C.  treat? 

224.  Give  a  brief  analysis  of  Art.  VII. 

225.  Of  what  does  Art.  VIII.  treat? 

226.  Give  a  brief  analysis. 

227.  Under  what  two  headings  does  the  Apology  discuss 
Art.  VII? 

228.  Give  an  analysis  of  the  discussion  on  the  definition  of 
the  Church. 

229.  Of  the  discussion  on  the  unity  of  the  Church. 

230.  Give  an  analysis  of  the  Apology  on  Art.  VIII. 

231.  Give  an  analysis  of  the  discussion  in  the  Smalcald 
Articles  on  the  Church. 

232.  Of  the  discussion  in  the  Large  Catechism. 

233.  Of  the  discussion  in  the  Formula  of  Concord. 

V.     Lecture  on  Art.  VII.  of  Augshurg  Confession. 

234.  What  two  things  are  necessary  for  the  true  unity  of  the 
Church? 

235.  Explain  Eph.  4:5. 

236.  What  four  great  lessons  can  we  learn  from  Matt. 
28:18-20? 

237.  Prove  that  this  passage  and  Art.  VII.  of  A.  C.  teach 
the  same  doctrine. 

238.  Against  what  two  antithetical  errors  does  the  N.  T. 
doctrine  of  Baptism  guard? 

239.  Prove  from  Scripture  that  Baptism  rightly  administered 
is  a  necessary  characteristic  of  the  one  Church. 

240.  Show  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  an  essential  mark  of 
the  true  unity  of  the  Church. 

241.  What  two  things  are  involved  in  a  right  administration 
of  a  Sacrament? 

242.  Discuss  more  fully  the  idea  that  the  organic  center  of 
the  unity  of  the  Church  lies  in  her  faith. 

243.  Show  that  the  Confessors  define  very  carefully  what  is 
necessary  to  the  true  unity  of  the  Church. 

244.  Show  that  this  unity  does  not  depend  on  the  similarity 
of  human  traditions. 

245.  Nor  on  similarity  of  human  ceremonies. 

246.  Define  Ritualism. 

247.  Discuss  Ritualism  in  an  unfavorable  sense. 

248.  What  is  the  position  of  the  Lutheran  Church  on  these 
points? 


ECCLESIOLOGIA.  109 

249.  Why  does  the  Lutheran  Church  lay  so  much  stress  on 
unity  of  doctrine. 

250.  What   is   the   first  thing  necessary  to  bring  about  the 
unity  of  doctrine? 

251.  What  is  the  second  step? 

VI.      T?ie  Teaching  of  our  Older  Dogmaticians. 

252.  What  was  Luther's  earliest  definition  of  the  Church? 

253.  What  later  definition  of  his  is  more  in  accordance  with 
Scripture? 

254.  Present   in    brief    Luther's    teaching    concerning    the 
Church. 

255.  What  aspect  of  the  Church  was  emphasized  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Romanists? 

256.  In  opposition  to  the  Anabaptists. 

257.  What  is  the  teaching  of  Melanchthon  ? 

258.  Upon   what  aspect  of  the  Church  did   Chemnitz   lay 
stress  ? 

259.  How  does  Hutter  define  the  Church? 

260.  Distinguish     between    the   visible    and    the    invisible 
Church. 

261.  Give  the  best  definition  of  the  Church. 

262.  How  does  Quenstedt  prove    from    Scripture  that   the 
Church  is  "the  congregation  of  saints"? 

263.  Distinguish  between   the  militant  and  the   triumphant 
Church. 

264.  How  does  Hollaz  establish  the  unity  of  the  Church  ? 

265.  How  does  Gerhard  develop  the  holi^iess  of  the  Church  ? 

266.  How     does    Hollaz    discuss    the    Catholicity    of     the 
Church? 

267.  The  A;postolicity  oi  the  Church? 

268.  What  is  meant  by  the  phrase  '  'out  of  the  Church  is  no 
salvation"  ? 

269.  What  does  Gerhard  say  on  this  point? 

270.  In  what  sense  is  the  Church  universal? 

271.  What  is  meant  by  a  particular  Church? 

272.  Discuss  the  topic  more  fully. 

273.  Distinguish  between  a  ^ure  and  an  imfure  Church. 

274.  Show  that  the  falseness  of  a  Church  is  a  relative  thing. 

275.  In  what  sense  may  we  speak  of   the  purity  of  a  Church 
as  relative? 

276.  Why  is  salvation  possible  even  in  some  of  the  false  or 
impure  churches  ? 

277.  What  are  the  marks  of  a  true  Church? 

278.  How  can   we  determine  whether  the   doctrine    of   a 
Church  is  pure? 

279.  What  value  do  the  works  of  standard  theologians  have  ? 

280.  Discuss  briefly  Lutheranism  versus  Romanism. 

281.  Discuss  briefly  the  relation  of  Lutheranism   to  Protest- 
tanism. 


110  EXAMINATION   QUESTIONS. 

281a.  What  is  meant  by  the  Synthetic  Church? 

282.  What  is  meant  by  the  Representative  Church? 

283.  How  does  Quenstedt  present  this  matter? 

284.  Buddeus? 

285.  Show  how  far  this  representative  character  may  be 
developed. 

VII.      The  Later  Development  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church. 

286.  What  was  the  nature  of  this  development  ? 

287.  What  was  the  influence  of  Spener? 

288.  Of  Rationalism? 

289.  Of  Supernaturalism? 

290.  Of  Kant? 

291.  Of  Schleiermacher? 

292.  Of  Hegel? 

293.  Of  Rothe? 

294.  What  was  the  tendency  of  the  later  development? 

295.  What  does  Dorner  say  of  the  invisibility  of  the  Church? 

296.  Of  her  visibility? 

297.  Of  what  value  is  this  distinction  between  the  visible  and 
invisible  Church? 

298.  How  does  Martensen  distinguish  between  the  formal 
and  wa^^rm/ principle  of  Protestantism? 

299.  How    does    he    distinguish     between     Lutheran    and 
Reformed  Protestantism? 

300.  What  general  position  with  reference  to  the  Church  did 
Stahl,  Vilmar,  and  Loehe,  take? 

301.  What  theologians  are  known  as  the  Erlangen  School? 

302.  What  general  position  did  these  theologians  take? 

303.  What  view  did  Grabau  and  the  Buffalo  Synod  take? 

304.  What  view  was  taken  by  Dr.  Walther? 

305.  What  position  was  taken  by  the  German  Iowa  Synod? 

VIII.      Theories  of  Church  Government. 

306.  Name  the  four  leading  theories? 

307.  Define  the  Roman  Catholic  view. 

308.  In  what  does  the  Eastern  Church  differ? 

309.  The  Old  Catholics? 

310.  State  the  High-Church  Anglican  view. 

311.  State  the  Low-Church  Anglican  view. 

312.  What  position   does   the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church 
take? 

313.  What  do  you  have  to  say  of  Methodist  Episcopacy? 

314.  Of  Moravian  Episcopacy? 

315.  Of  Lutheran  Episcopacy? 

316.  Define  the  Presbyterian  Polity. 

317.  Who  first  put  it  into  practical  application? 

318.  Give  an  account  of  its  growth  and  influence. 

319.  Describe  the  Congregational  Polity. 

320.  Distinguish  between   English   and  American   Congre- 
gationalism. 


ECCLESIOLOGIA.  Ill 

321.  What  Polity  do  the  Baptists  favor? 

322.  Show  that  the  Church  Polity  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  this  country  is  largely  Presbyterian. 

323.  Show  that  some  Synods  are  largely  congregational. 


IX.     Constitution  of  the  Church  in  Apostolic  Times. 


324 
325 
N.  T. 
326 
327 


divinum  diocesan  Episcopacy. 


328 
329 


lished  in  the  Church. 


330 
331 
332 
333 
334 
335 
336 
337 
338 


What  is  the  object  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity? 

Prove  that  bishops  and  presbyters  were  identical  in  the 

What  do  we  learn  from  Clement  of  Rome? 

Why   is  there   no  evidence   in   the  N.    T.  for   a  Jus 


Nor  iofa.Jus  divi^iumX'a.y  presbyterial  oflEice? 

Show    that    the    diaconate    was  the  first  oflSce  estab- 


Give  an  account  of  their  election. 

What  were  their  functions? 

Show  that  they  were  aids  of  the  minister. 

Discuss  the  diaconate  more  fully. 

Discuss  the  female  diaconate. 

Whence  did  the  office  of  elder  take  its  name  and  origin? 

Whence  did  the  word  bishop  have  its  origin? 

What  were  the  duties  of  the  presbyters  or  bishops? 

Trace  the  development  of  Church  Government  in  the 


Gentile  Churches. 

X.      The  Developme7it  of  the  Episcopal  Hierarchy. 

339.  Trace  the  origin  of  the  Congregational  Episcopate. 

340.  Trace  the  origin  of  the  Diocesan  Episcopate. 

341.  With  what  three  great  names  is  the  development  of  the 
Episcopacy  connected? 

342.  Where  do  we  find  the  minutes  of  the  first  Council  of  the 
Christian  Church  recorded? 

343.  What  facts  can  we  learn  from  this  record? 

344.  Why  were  Synods  soon  held  regularly? 

345.  What  important  facts  do  we  learn   from  the  history  of 
the  early  Councils? 

346.  Show  how  finally  an  CEcumenical  Council  was  held. 

347.  Name    the    eight  earliest   CEcumenical  Councils,    and 
give  dates. 

348.  Trace  the  origin  of  the  Metropolitan  constitution. 

349.  Trace  the  steps  by  which  the  Roman  hierarchial   form 
of  government  was  developed. 

350.  What  was  the   relation  of    the  Church   to   the  Civil 
Orders? 

351.  Sketch  briefly  Church  Polity  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

XI.      Church  Polity  of  the  Reformation  Period. 

352.  In    what   way  did   the    doctrine  of   the  Reformation 
influence  Church  Polity? 


112  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

353.  Discuss  the  topic  of  the  universal  priesthood. 

354.  What,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Reformers,  was  the  great 
significance  of  the  ministry? 

355.  What  view  was  taken  of  the  pastor's  office? 

356.  What  was  the  nature  of  the   Church  constitution  thus 
developed? 

357.  Why  are  the  teachings  of   the  Lutheran   Confessions 
important  on  this  point? 

358.  Under  what  six  points  may  Art.  XXVIII.  of  Augsburg 
Confession,  of  Ecclesiastical ;pozuer,  be  analyzed? 

359.  Discuss  briefly  its  presentation  of  the  Scripture  doctrine? 

360.  How  do  they  limit  the  Jurisdiction  of  Bishops? 

361.  What  do  they  teach  concerning  their  power  to  institute 
human  ordinances? 

362.  Give  a  brief  outline  of  Apology  on  Art.  XIV,,  of  Ecclesi- 
astical 07-dei's. 

362.  Of  Apology  on  Art.  XV,,  of  Human  Traditions  in  the 
Church. 

363.  Of  Apology  on  Art.  XXVIII.,  of  Ecclesiastical  Pozver. 

364.  What  does  the  Apology  teach  concerning  the  power  of 
the  bishops? 

365.  Of  traditions? 

366.  How  do  they  answer  the  arguments  of  Rome? 

367.  What  do  the  Smalcald  Articles  teach  of  the  Keys? 

368.  Of  Excommunication ? 

369.  Under  what  six  points  is  the  Pozver  and  Jurisdiction 
of  Bishops  discussed  in  the  Appendix? 

370.  On  what  occasion  did  Luther  more  fully  develop  the 
doctrine  of  the  universal  priesthood? 

371.  Give  an  outline  of  his  earlier  teaching  on   the  Church. 

372.  Give  a  summary  of  his  later  teaching, 

373.  What,  in  general,  may  be  said  of  Luther's  teaching  on 
the  Church  ? 

374.  Summarize  the  teaching  of  Melanchthon, 

375.  What  is  meant  by  the  doctrine  of  the  Three  Estates? 

376.  What    is  meant    by    the  Episcopal    System   in   the 
Lutheran  Church? 

377.  Who  developed  this  system? 

378.  Define  the  Territorial  System. 

379.  Who  developed  this  system? 

380.  Define  the  Collegial  System. 

381.  Under  what  influence  was  this  developed? 

382.  What  can   you   say   of  the   relation   of   the  Lutheran 
Church  to  the  State? 

XII.     Studies  in  Lutheran  Church  Polity. 

383.  Why  is  the  study   of  Church   Polity  so  important   at 
present? 

384.  Why  is  the  Church  Polity  of  the  Lutheran   Church   in 
such  an  undeveloped  state? 

385.  Why  is  this  subject  of  such  importance  now? 


ECCLESIOLOGIA.  113 

386.  Why  are  there  such  diverse  tendencies  in  Church  Polity 
in  the  Lutheran  Church? 

387.  What  form  of  Church  Polity  ought   to  be  encouraged? 

388.  Why  is  it  so  important  that  the  congregational  life  be 
brought  into  greater  activity? 

389.  How  ought  a  congregation  to  be  organized  in  the 
mutual  relations  of  pastors,    deacons,  and   congregation   proper? 

390.  What  is  the  truest  view  of  the  pastor's  relation  to  his 
flock? 

391.  Why  is  it  not  wise  for  the  individual  congregation  to 
make  regulations  concerning  the  general  confession  and  the  general 
order  of  the  Church? 

XIII.      The  Church  Polity  of  the  General  Council. 

392.  Who  has  supreme  power  over  the  Church? 

393.  What  power  has  Christ  committed  to  the  Church? 

394.  What  is  just  power  exercised  by  the  Church? 

395.  When  does  the  Church  exercise  zinjust  power? 

396.  What  three  things  are  involved  in  just  power? 

397.  Through  what  instrument  does  the  Church  exercise  yws^ 
power? 

398.  Distinguish  between  the  fower  of  the  order  and  the 
fower  of  the  keys. 

399.  What  is  the  absolute  guide  of  the  Church  in  the  exer- 
cise of  her  power? 

400.  What  are  the  primary  bodies  through  which  this  power 
is  normally  exercised? 

401.  Define  a  congregation  in   the  normal  state. 

402.  What  is  the  nature  of  ordinary  Church  power? 

403.  Distinguish  between  abnormal  and  normal  exercise  of 
Church  power. 

404.  Name  four  false  theories  of  Church  power. 

405.  What  is  meant  by  a  re'prese7itative? 

406.  How  far  does  his  act  bind  the  principal? 

407.  Show  that  a  congregation  can  be  ruled  in  no  way  but 
rej)rese7itatively. 

408.  In  what  way  do  representatives  act  for  their  principals? 

409.  To  whom  does  the  power  to  call  ministers  rightly 
belong? 

410.  Distinguish  between  the  universal  priesthood  and  the 
ministerial  office. 

411.  In  what  way  does  the  pastor  of  a  congregation  become 
their  representative? 

412.  Illustrate  it  in  the  case  of  the  representative  system  of 
our  own  country. 

413.  Of  whom  is  every  minister  a  representative? 

414.  What  do  you  have  to  say  of  lay-delegates? 

415.  Of  Ruling  Elders  andyz^5  divinum  lay-eldership? 

416.  What  were  the  deacons  of  the  Early  Church? 

417.  Why  do  we  insist  on  congregational  representation? 


114  ECCLESIOLOGIA. 

418.  Show  that  the  judgments  of  Synods  are  the  judgments 
of  the  Church? 

419.  Why  has  an  individual  congregation  not  the  same 
authority  as  a  Synod? 

420.  Why  are  congregations  the  lowest  Church  authority  in 
all  questions  not  strictly  congregational? 

421.  Show  that  a  free  General  Council  or  Synod,  chosen  by 
the  Church,  is  representatively  the  Church  itself. 

422.  What  must  be  the  marks  of  a  true  representative  Coun- 
cil or  Synod? 

423.  What  is  meant  by  the  Synthetic  Church? 

424.  By  the  Representative  Church? 

425.  To  what  limit  may  Tefresentation  go? 

426.  For  whom  especially  are  constitutions  prepared? 

427.  Under  what  circumstances  may  a  Synod  withdraw  from 
a  General  body? 

428.  Explain  and  qualify  the  statement,  the  form  of  Lutheran 
Church  Government  is  that  of  a  fiire  77iot2archy. 

429.  Show  that  her  government  is  77ot  a  hierarchy. 

430.  Show  that  it  is  not  an  aristocracy. 

431.  Nor  a  sporadic  Polyarchy  like  Congregationalism. 

432.  What  is  the  best  name  given  to  her  ideal  form  of  gov- 
ernment? 

433.  Show  that  it  is  Christocratic. 

434.  Show  that  it  is  7'e^resentative  and  elective. 

435.  Show  that  it  is  real  and  decisive,  if  rightly  applied. 

436.  Why  have  we  a  right  to  assume  that  the  decisions  of 
Synods  are  more  likely  to  be  true  and  right  than  those  of  single 
congregations? 

437.  Show  that  the  admission  of  fallibility  does  not  destroy 
rightful  authority. 

438.  What  objections  have  been  raised  against  accepting  the 
decisions  of  Synods? 

439.  Show  that  the  authority  claimed  for  Synods  is  not  in 
conflict  with  the  right  of  minorities. 

440.  Show  that  this  is  true,  even  if  it  should  happen  that  a 
minority  be  in  the  right. 

441.  Show  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  authority  even  if  it 
prove  to  be  fallible. 

442.  Why  can  we  not  refer  questions,  decided  by  general 
bodies,  for  decision  to  individual  congregations? 

443.  How  may  congregations  protect  their  rights? 

444.  What  is  the  duty  of  a  delegate  appointed  to  represent  a 
congregation? 

445.  For  what  objects  ought  Synods  to  be  organized? 

446.  What  position  does  Stahl  take? 

447.  What  position  is  represented  by  Walther? 

448.  State  the  first  three  theses  laid  down  by  Walther. 

449.  Criticise  Walther's  sixth  thesis. 

450.  Criticise  his  seventh  thesis. 

451.  How  does  Stahl  criticise  these  last  two  theses? 


ECCLESIOLOGIA.  115 


452.  To  whom,  according  to  Walther,  was  the  foiver  of  the 
Keys  given? 

453.  How  does  Stahl  criticise  this  exegesis? 

454.  What    other    difficulty    arises    in    adopting  Walther's 
position? 

455.  How  does  Stahl  criticise  Walther's  view  of   the   organ- 
ization of  the  N.  T.  Church? 

456.  What  credit  does  Stahl  give  to  Walther? 

457.  How   does    he,   in    general,    criticise    the    tendency    of 
Missouri? 

458.  What  is  the  weakness  of  Stahl's  position? 

459-     What  has  been  the  praiseworthy  aim  of  Missouri? 

460.  In  what  does  the  weakness   of   their  whole  system   lie? 

461.  What  lamentable  mistake  have  they  made  in  the  matter 
of  historical  scholarship? 

XIV.     Literature. 

462.  Name  some  valuable   General  Works  bearing  on    the 
Church. 

463.  Name    the   best    works   in    which   the   history   of   the 
doctrine  of  the  Church  is  discussed. 

464.  Name    the   best  General  Doctrinal   Works    from   the 
Baptist  point  of  view. 

464.  By  Congregational  theologians. 

465.  By  theologians  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 

466.  By  scholars  of  the  Church  of  England  (Episcopal). 

467.  Of  the  German  Reformed  Church. 

468.  Name  tv/o  of   the   most    prominent    of   the   Mediating 
Lutheran  theologians. 

469.  Name  ten  works  by  strictly  Confessional  Lutherans. 

470.  Name   some  of    the   most  prominent  Methodist   theo- 
logians. 

471.  Name  some  of  the  great  Presbyterian  writers   on    Dog- 
matics. 

472.  Name  some  important  Roman  Catholic  works. 

473.  Name  some  of  the  more  important  Anglican  works  on 
the  Church  and  Church  Polity. 

474.  Name  some  of  the  best  works  on  Congregationalism. 

475.  On  Lutheran  Protestantism. 

476.  On  Presbyterianism. 

477.  On  Roman  Catholicism. 


INDEX 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Abelard,  Sic  et  Non  of 38 

Abiding  duration,  sign  of  the  Church  40 

Addis  and  Arnold 99 

Aeon  or  age,  this 12,  13 

the  future     12.  13 

Apology,  teaching  of 45,  46,  72,  73 

Aquinas 29,96 

Augsburg  Confession,  teaching  of. 

44,  59,  71,  72 

Alford 35 

Ambrose 35 

Anabaptists , 76 

Anderson 98 

Angels,  good 13 

Angels  of  the  churches 68 

Anglican  Church 64 

Ante-Nicene  Fathers  94 

Ante-Nicene  period,  development 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 

in 21,  23 

Antiquity,  sign  of  the  Church 40 

Apostles'  Creed 23 

Apostles 66,  67 

teaching  of  concerning  the 

Church 15,  19 

Church  polityduring  timesof 

66,  68 

Apostolic  Council 68 

Apostolical  doctrine 20 

Apostolical  Succession 20,  21,  64 

Apostolicity  of  the  Church..  .26,  27.  56 

teaching  of  Rome 30.  40 

Attributes  of  the  Church.  ..9,  23-27,  56 
Augustine.... 20,  24,  25-27,  28,  34,  35,  36 

Bacon 36 

Baier 82,  95 

Banner  man,  D 99 

Banner  man,  J 99 

Baptism 13,  15,16,  18,  47-50,58 

Baptists 65 

Barnura 99 

Bellarmine 29.30,31 

Bengel 35 

Bennett 93 

Berington  and  Kirk 96 

Beste 98 

Bilson 97 

Binnie 98 

Bishops 19,  20,  21,  22,  37,  66,  67,  68 

Jurisdiction  of 72,75 

Supremacy  of 20,  21.  69 

Bishops  of  Rome 20,  21,  32 

Biorling 96 

Blunt 64 

Body,  the  Church  a 17,  18 

Book  of  Co7icord 44 

Boyce  94 

Bride,  the  Church  a 18 

Bring 96 

Broad  Church  Episcopacy 64 

Broadus... 34,  35 

Brown 99 

Buddeus 60 

Buel 95  I 


PAGE 

Buffalo  Synod 63 

Building,  the  Church  a 17 

Calovius 34 

Calvin 42,  65,  96 

Campbell 95 

Candlish 99 

Canonical  law 69 

Carpzove 78 

Cathcart 97 

Catholic,  meaning  of  tfie  word 25 

Catholic     Church,     teaching     of 

Ancient 19-28 

teaching  of  Roman 28-42 

Catholicity  of  Church 25,26,  56 

as  to  place  25 

as  to  time 26 

as  to  teaching 26 

teaching  of  Rome 30,  40 

Ceremonies,  human 51-53 

Chemnitz 34,  55,  99 

Christ,  the  founder  of  the  Church 

11-15 

the  chief  corner-stone  33 

the    supreme    head    of     the 

Church 81 

Christianity,  spread  of 14,  15 

Chronicle  of  Eusebius, 36,  37 

Church,  actual  or  visible.  ..9, 17,  44, 

45,46,61,62 

and  State 78 

a  pillar  of  the  truth 18,  45 

apostolicity  of 26,  27,  56 

attributes  of 9,  23-27,  56 

catholicity  of 25, 26,  56 

Christ  the  head  of 81 

collective 59,  85 

development  of 11,  14,  15 

essential  nature  of 11-14,  44 

estate  of 70 

false 58 

founding  of 13 

holiness  of 25,  44,  56 

ideal  or  invisible. 16,  17,  18,  23,  44 

is  all  comprehensive 12,  13 

is  a  building 17 

is  a  body 17, 18 

is  a  bride 18 

marks  of 13,14,44,45 

meaning  of  word 10,59 

militant 56 

origin  of 15, 16 

particular 57 

polity  of  Lutheran..  ..70-75,  79-93 

polity  of  Roman 63,  69,70 

power  of 71,  72,  73,  81,  82 

pure 58 

representative 59,  85 

Roman  characteristics  of 30 

Roman  marks  of ..  ..  30,  39-42.  46 

scripture  doctrine  of ,..9-19 

spiritual  nature  of  ..9, 11, 15, 16, 

44,  61,62 

synthetic 59,  85 

triumphant 56 


INDEX. 


117 


PAGE 

unity  of.. ..19,  20,21,23,24,44, 

46,47-51,  56 

universal 57 

visible  or  actual 16,17,  23, 

29,30,44,61,62 

Church  Book .^O 

Church  trovernment 70-75,  79-93 

Church  Polity, 

of  Roman  Church 63.  69,  70 

of  Lutheran  Church.. 70-75,  79-93 

Luther  on 75,  76 

false  theories  of 83 

Chrysostom 35 

Civil  orders 70 

Clemens  Romanus 24,  66 

Coleman 99 

Collective  Church 59,  85 

Collegial  system 78 

Communion  of  saints 23 

Congregation 9,  11,  16,  21 

power  of 82,  83.  85.  88,  89 

has  the  right   of  representa- 
tion   83-87 

Congregational  Episcopacy.  .19,  22, 

68.69 

Congregationalism 65,  66 

Constantine 37,  69 

Constitutions 86 

Constitution  of  Congregations 80 

Consummation  of  the  age 15 

Corvv'in 99 

Councils,  early 69 

at  Jerusalem 68,  69 

at  Basle 70 

at  Constance 70 

at  Pisa 70 

at  Trent 39,59 

Cramp 99 

Crippen 94 

Cummings 97 

Cunningham 94,  99 

Cutts 95 

Cvprian 20,  21,  24,  36,  68 

Cyril  of  Alexandria 35,  36 

Dabney 96 

Dagg 94,  97 

Dale 97 

Deacons 22,  67,  80,  84 

Delegates 83,89 

Delitzsch 63,98 

Denney 95 

Denomination 57 

Dexter 65,97 

Diaconate 22,  66,  67 

female 67 

Di  Bruno 96 

Dieckhoff 98 

Diocesan  Episcopacy .  .22,  64,  66,  68.  69 

Discipline 72,  73 

Doellinger 99 

Domestic  estate 77 

Dominicans 41 

Donatism 27,  28 

Dorner 61,  62,  95 

Dove-Richter 98 

Eastern  Church 63 

Ebrard 95 

Ecclesia,  usage  in  Sept 10 


PAGE 

usage  in  N.  T 10,11 

usage  by  Paul 16 

meaning  of 21 

Ecclesiastical  estate 77 

Ecclesiastical  orders 72,  73 

Ecclesiastical  Polity,  see  Church 

Politv 
Ecclesiastical  Power.  ..71,  72,  73,  81,  82 

Ecclesiastical  Rites 51-53,  72,  73 

Rdha 9,10 

Efficacy    of   doctrine,  a  mark  of 

Roman  Church 41 

Elder  or  Presbyter 22,  66,  67,  68 

ruling 22,66,84 

Epiphanius 37 

Episcopacy 24,  63,  64 

congregational 19,  22,  68,  69 

diocesan 22,  64,  66,  68,  69 

development  of 22,  23 

High  Church 64 

Low  Church 64 

Lutheran 64,  79 

Methodist 64 

Moravian 64 

Episcopal  Church 64 

Reformed 64 

Episcopal  system 78 

Episcopate  of  Peter 36,  37 

testates,  the  three 60,  77 

Eusebius 20,  36 

Chronicle  of 36,  37 

History  of 37 

Excommunication 74 

Fair  bairn 95 

Faith,  unity  of 47,  51 

False  Church 58 

Farrar 35 

Festivals 73 

Field 97 

Field 96 

Finney 95 

Fisher 94 

Formal  Principle 42,  62 

Formula  of  Concord 47 

Foster 96 

Franciscans 41 

Frank 96 

Geikie 35 

Gerhard , 55,  56 

Gerhart 95 

Gibbons 96 

Gloag 35 

Gore 97,99 

Government,  Church 63 

theories  of 63-65 

Grabau 63 

Graul 98 

Greek  Church 37 

Gregory  of  Nyssa 35 

Haddan 97 

Hagenbach 94 

Harless 63,98 

Harnack 63,  98 

Hase 96 

Hatch 20,97 

Hegel 61 

Hegesippus 20 


118 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Heppe 95 

Hermes 24 

Hierarchy,  Roman 69 

High  Church  Episcopacy 64 

Hilary 35,36 

Hildebrand 29 

Hodge 96,99 

Hoefling 63,  90,  91,  98 

Hoffmann,  Von 98 

Holiness  of  the  Church 25,  44,  56 

teaching  of  Rome 30 

Hollaz 56,59 

Hooker 95 

Hovey 95 

Human  traditions 72 

Hunter 96 

Hurter 97 

Huther 35 

Hutter    ..   .   55 

Ignatius,  teaching  of  ..19,  20,  24,  25,  68 
Immaculate  Conception,  doctrine 

of 38 

Independents 65 

Infallibility:  of  Roman  Church.. 29,  30 

of  the  Pope 31,32,36,38,39 

Infidelity 54 

Inspiration  of  the  Roman  Church.29,39 
Invisible  Church.,  ..16, 17, 18,  23,  44, 

61,62 

Iowa  Synod 63 

Irenaeus,  teaching  of 20,  24,  26,  68 

Jacob 97 
acobs 96,  98 

James 99 

Jansenist  Church 64 

Jerome 36 

Jerusalem,  destruction  of 14 
esuits  41 
esus,  teaching  of,  concerning  the 

Church 11,  15 

Jewel 97 

Jews,  opposition  of 14 

John,  teaching  of,  concerning  the 

Church 19 

Johnson 95 
ohnson,  Gisle 96 
udgment,  day  of 15 

continuous 15 

final 15 

Jurisdiction  of  bishops 72,  75 

Jurisdiction,  of  Peter 32-36 

Jurisdiction, power  of.33, 37, 72, 74, 77,  82 
Jus  divinum.  Congregationalism. 83, 84 

Episcopacy 83,  84 

Presbyterianism.22,  65,  66,  83,  84 
Justification  by  Faith 62 

Kant 61 

Kenrick,  Archbishop 36 

Keys,  power  of  the 32,  71,  74 

Killen 99 

King 99 

Kingdom  of  God 11-19 

spiritual  nature  of 11 

two-fold  aspect  as  to  time  .11,  12 

essential  nature  of 12 

development  of 12-15 

Kliefoth 98 


PAGE 

Koestlin 98 

Krauth,  9, 42, 44,  47-54,  59,  66-71, 72-93,  96 
Kuyper 95 

Ladd 97 

Landon 94 

Lange 95 

Large  Catechism 46 

Lay  eldership 22,  65 

Leo  the  Great 36 

Liberty,  Christian 73 

Lightfoot 20.  97 

Lindberg 96 

Literature  on  the  Church 94-99 

Littledale 36,99 

Loehe 63,  98 

Lord's  Supper ... .  13, 14, 15, 18, 49, 50, 58 

Low  Church  Episcopacy 64 

Loy 98 

Luthardt 96 

Luther 42.  54 

on  Church  Polity 75,76,77 

Lutheran  Church,  a  true  Church 59 

Church  polity  of 70-93 

Lutheran  Episcopacy 64 

Lutheran  Protestantism. .  .42-54,  57, 

58,62,63 

Macaire 97 

Maclear 95 

Majorities 86 

Marheineke 24 

Marks  of  Church 13, 14,44,  45 

of  Roman  Church 30,  39-42 

Martensen 62,  95 

Mason 95 

Material  principle 62 

Maurice 97 

McElhinney 94,97 

McGill 99 

Means  of  Grace 13, 14,  18 

Melanchthon 42,  54,  55,  77 

Methodist  Episcopacy 84 

Metropolitan  Constitution 69 

Metropolitan  Episcopacy 69,  70 

Meyer 35 

Migra 9,  10 

Miley 96 

Militant  Church 56 

Miller 99 

Ministry,  office  of 13,  14,  18,  70, 

71,75,76,84,91 

calling  of 72,75,76 

power  of 75,  82,  83 

Minorities 86,  88 

Miracles 42 

Missouri  Synod 63,  90-93 

Moehler 99 

Montanism 27,  28 

Moravian  Episcopacy 64 

M  orison 34 

Morris  99 

Moule 95 

Mueller 98 

Muenchmeyer 98 

Neander 94 

Nicene  Canons 37 

Nicene  Creed 23 

Nicene  Fathers 93 


INDEX. 


119 


PAGE 

Nitzsch 95 

Norris 64,  95 

Novatianism 27,  28 

Nowell  97 

CEcumenical   Councils 69 

CEttingen 96 

Old  Testament  teaching 9,  10 

Optatus 37 

0-piis  operatuvi,  doctrine  of 48 

Orders,  ecclesiastical 72,  73 

Order,  power  of  the 77,  82 

Ordinances,  human 72 

Ordination 64 

Origen , 25,  36 

Palmer 97 

Papacy 70,  83 

Papal  Infallibility 31,  32,  36,  38,  39 

Parables, 

of  the  Draw-Net 11,  25 

of  the  Hidden  Treasure 11 

of  the  Laborers  in  Vineyard.. 12 

of  the  Leaven 11 

of  the  Marriage  Feast. 12,  14,  25 

of  the  Mustard  Seed 11 

of  the  Pearl 11 

of  the  Seed  growing  secretly. 14, 15 

of  the  Sower 11 

of  the  Tares 11,  12,  14,  25 

of  the  Ten  Virgins 12, 15 

of  the  Wicked  Husbandmen  ..14 

Particular  Church 57,59 

Parousia,  the 15,  18 

Pastors,  names  given  to 22 

office  of 71 

relation  of  to  congregation 84 

Paul,  teaching  of,  concerning  the 

Church 16-18 

Pearson 95 

Percival 95 

Perrone 29,  97 

Peter,  chair  of 21 

leader  of  the  Apostles 33 

had  not   primacy  of    Juris- 
diction  33 

not  bishop  of  Rome 36,  37 

the  Rock 21,  31,36 

supremacy  of 31-36 

infallibility  of 32 

Peter,  teaching  of,  concerning  the 

Church 15,  16 

Petra  and  Petros 32 

Petrine,  the  three 32 

Pfaff 78 

Philippi 96 

Pietism  60,  78 

Pillar  of  truth  is  the  Church 18,  45 

Plitt 96 

Political  Estate 77,  78 

Pond 95 

Pope 96 

Pope  HonoriusI 38 

Pope  Leo  XIII 30 

Pope  Liberius 38 

Pope  Pius  IX 38 

Pope,  primacy  of 29,  31-38 

infallibility  of..  ..31,  32,  36,  38,  39 

supremacy  of 31-38,  69,  70 

Popes,  deposed 38 


PAGE 

Post-Nicene  Fathets 94 

Power,  ecclesiastical.  ..71,  72,  73.  81,  82 

Power  of  the  Keys 32,71.  74.77,82 

Power  of  Jurisdiction. 33,  37,  72,74.77,82 

Power  of  the  order 77,  82 

Presbyter  or  Elder 22,  66,  67,68 

ruling 22,  66 

Presbvterianism 65 

Jus  divtman 22,  65,  66 

Priesthood,  universal 70,75,  76.  84 

Primacy  of  Peter 32-36 

Primacy  of  the  Pope 29,  31-38 

Principles  of  Reformation 42-44 

Private  Judgment 42 

Prophecy 42 

Protestantisms. 

divisions  of 42-44 

Reformed 42-44,  62,  63 

Lutheran 42-54,  62,63 

Pure  particular  Churches 26,  58 

Puritanism 43 

Qahal 9,  10 

Quenstedt 55,  57,  60 

Rationalism 54,  60 

Raymond 96 

Reformation,  principles  of 42-44 

Reformed  Episcopal  Church 64 

Reformed  Protestantism  .42-44,62,63,65 

Representation,  right  of 83-87 

Representative  Church 59,  60,  85 

Reynolds 98 

Richter 66,94,98 

Rites,  human 51-53,72,  73 

Ritualism 51-53 

Rock,  Peter  the 32-36 

Rogers 98 

Roman  Catechism 29 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  teaching 

of 28-42 

infallibility  of 29,  30 

inspiration  of 29 

the  visible  Church 29,  30 

characteristics  of 30 

marks  of 30,  39-42 

Church  government  of..63,  69,  70 
Roman  Primacy,  doctrine  of. .27,  31-38 

Roman  hierarchy 69,  70 

Rothe 61,  95 

Ruling  elder 22,  66,  84 


Sacram  ents 13,  14,  44,  47-50 

Sadler 95 

Salmon 97 

Salvation  outside  the  Church,  no.   .24 

Sanctity,  a  mark  of  the  Church 41 

Schaff . : 24,  35,  94 

Schleiermacher 61 

Schmid 94,96 

Schouppe 97 

Scripture,  silence  of 43 

Searle 97 

Second  Advent 1.5 

Seeberg 94 

Septuagint  usage 9, 10 

Shedd 96 

Sheldon 94 

Sic  et  Non  of  A belard 38 

Silence  of  Scripture 43 


120 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Smalcaid  Articles,  teaching  of... 46,  74 

Smith,  H.  B 98 

Smith  and  Cheetham 94 

Smith  and  Wace 94 

Specht 99 

Spener 60 

S t a  h  1 63 ,  89-93,  98 

State  and  Church 78 

Stearns 95 

Strong 95 

Strong,  T.  B 95 

Succession  of  Bishops..  ..20,  21,  32,  40 

Supernaturalism 61 

Supremacy  of  Pope 31,  38 

Synag-ogiie,  usage  of  word 10 

Synods 60,  68,  69,  84,  85-89 

Synthetic  Church 59,  85 

Tanquerey 97 

Territorial  System 78 

Tertullian,  teaching  of 20,  27 

Testimony  of  Church 43,  44 

Theodore't 36 

Theophyiact 35 

Thomasius 78 

Thomasius 63,  94,  96 

Tradition 42,  62 

Traditions,  human 51,  72,  73,  74 

Trent,  Council  of 39,59 

Triumphant  Church 56 


P.\GE 

Ultramontanism 31-38,  39 

Unity  of  the  Church... 23,  24.  44,  46, 

47-51,56 

Ignatius 19 

Irenaeus 20 

Cyprian 20,  21,  24 

Rome 30,  41,  46 

Universal  Church 57 

Universal  Priesthood 70,  75,  76,  84 

Universality  of  the  Church..  .25,  26,  50 

Van  Oosterzee 95 

Vatican  Council 36,  38,  39 

Vilmar 63,  96 

Visible  Church..  16,  17,23,29,30,44, 

45,  46,61,62 

Walker 98 

Wal ther 63,  90-93,  98 

Watson 96 

Wayland 98 

Weiss 35 

Wiseman 97 

Withrow 9D 

Word  of  God 13,  44 

Wordsworth 34 

Zahn 20 

Zezschwitz 63,98 

Zwingle 42 


Date  Due 


4\^ 


^£  9    '^ 


Mh^ 


